Fountain Girl
by SydFord1012
Summary: After a fateful encounter in middle school, Kaoru has a recurring dream about it. But he never asked the girls name, so when Tamaki's Childhood friend enters the Host Club, Kaoru's life is turned upside down. Will love blossom between an incredibly dense girl and a mischievous twin? Read to find out! Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC I own my OC.
1. Prologue: A Term Of Endearment

I woke up to the bright morning sun, Hikaru was still asleep. I looked down at him. Why do I have that dream? That dream of the Fountain Girl, the Sleeping Girl, or any name you'd like to call her. She was odd, like a dream. I've told Hikaru about the recurring dream, he seemed concerned but now he's probably forgotten, after all, he's not the one having them.

It started when we were in our second year of middle school, sheltered, anti-social, and bored of everything, yeah, that was us. But when we walked over to our spot by the fountain, where we would sit on the edge and play video games. But this time was different, this time we couldn't sit there, because a girl was sleeping there.

We weren't shocked of course, a little taken a back maybe? I mean, there was a foreign girl sleeping on cold concrete like it was a comfy bed, one wrong move and she could fall into cold water.

We sat there, contemplating whether to push her away, move to the other side, or just walk away, when we heard her mumbling. "If we push her in, she might hit her head on the concrete, and then we'd have a whole lot of trouble…" Hikaru said.

"Maybe we could just go find another place to sit." Honestly, it was weird we were even discussing this.

"Loud…" the blonde mumbled as she rose, rubbing her eyes." She looked up at us with far away, green eyes. "What are you doing?" she said while trying to stifle a yawn.

"We kinda wanted to sit there." Hikaru said coldly. "So, move."

She tilted her head. "No please?" she said with a smile. "But I was here first, maybe you can sit next to me?"

"Let's just go, Kaoru." Hikaru turned around, I followed him.

"Before you go," she yelled to us. "Could you tell me something?"

"Nah, don't really feel like it." We said in unison.

"Please?" she asked. She was short, maybe a first year here? No she didn't have a uniform, maybe visiting? I thought as we turned slowly. There was something about her that made us want to stay.

"What do you want to ask?" I asked her.

"I'm visiting someone," Bingo, guessed it right. "And I just want to ask if you know him, see he's a little late." She giggled. And that ladies and gentlemen, that was the first time I genuinely thought someone was adorable. How pitiful.

"Sorry, but we don't exactly know many people here." Hikaru shrugged.

"He's a third year." She tried to further narrow down who it was.

"Then, we definitely don't know him." I said.

"Oh well," now she shrugged. "Thanks anyway, Mon Ami." She smiled. Oh, then she's French, that explains the accent.

"Mon Ami? Doesn't that mean my friend? Hate to break it to you, but we're not your friends." Hikaru said, once again, coldly.

"It's a term of…" she paused for a second, probably trying to find the right word in Japanese. "Endearment?" she put a finger to her mouth. "Is that it?" I could tell her Japanese wasn't the best, maybe she lived in France then.

Hikaru scoffed. "You're the French, aren't you? You should know." She glared at him.

"I was raised in France, yes, but my Japanese is still…Learning." I had to smile, Hikaru full on laughed. She gave us a confused look. "Was that not right?" she asked.

"No." I said, trying my best to hold back a chuckle.

"Work on your grammar." Hikaru said.

"Oh." Then she eyed us carefully, then realizing she was still sitting down and having to crane her neck, she stood up. "I've only been to Japan once before, and I was only here for a week." She paused. "So, I apologize for any incorrect usage my your language." She bowed, her golden locks falling in front of her face.

I found I was at least a six inches taller than her and her large green eyes seemed to look into my soul when she looked at me. The school bell rang, signaling school was over, not long after I heard some loud voice calling "Mon Ami!" she smiled at us.

"That is my friend, I'll be in town for a couple of days, I hope to see you again." She bowed again before running to hug another blond headed idiot.

"Let's go." Hikaru started walking, he seemed upset, but I kind of knew he was a little happy; we had met someone who seemed not a total and complete waste of time. That was a first.

Of course all good things must come to an end, we never saw her again, and I have been having a recurring dream of that encounter occasionally, since then. I found it a little weird, considering she didn't seem that important. We never actually saw who it was she ran up to, I once considered it being Tamaki, but he never mentioned her, so I just thought maybe some exchange student…How stupid was I?


	2. Chapter 1: And So She Returns

"Haruhi!" Tamaki screeched from across the room. "Are those shady twins bugging you?" he ran over to her as she was talking to Hikaru and Kaoru.

"No, Sempai." She closed her book, unable to get any studying done. "You are." She shot him a glare and he retreated into his corner of woe.

"Tama-Chan sure does like that corner." Honey said lightly as he stuffed his face with cake. Mori nodded and grunted in agreement.

"You sure are being loud today, Tamaki." Kyoya pushed his glasses up so the light would reflect on them, making it impossible to see his eyes. His fingers making a clacking noise as he typed away on his laptop.

"And we were just talking to Haruhi, Tomo." Hikaru said as he shrugged.

"Yeah, it's not like we were doing anything to her." Kaoru chimed in with a matching shrug.

"Oh, and Tamaki…" Kyoya looked at the dark corner to see his friend growing mushrooms. "It seems you have a guest." Kyoya had noticed wide, dark green eyes looking into the room.

Tamaki quickly revived. "Hello, my beautiful princess." He had a rose in his hand as he greeted her. But suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, causing everyone, with the exception of Kyoya who was still looking at the girl, to turn their head towards Tamaki. "You?" he said under his breath, a smile crept up on his face. He pulled the green eyed girl into an embrace, which was returned.

"Tama-chan!" she said as she wrapped her arms around him. They both started crying like idiots. Kyoya got up and walked over to them.

"Miss Yuki, it is a pleasure to see you again." He smiled, which caused everyone's jaws to drop.

"Kyo-chan!" she let go of Tamaki, and squeezed Kyoya into a hug. "It's been years!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry I didn't give more of a warning, a simple email just doesn't seem to cut it, huh?" she laughed. Now that everyone could see her properly, they saw her blonde hair, much like Tamaki's except hers has dark red streaks, it seemed to suit her perfectly, her dark green eyes contrasted beautifully with the color of her hair, and her porcelain skin. She had on a black, short skirt, and striped, black and white, leggings. Her shirt was white with a ribbon on one, black, strap, and a long black coat to top it off. Her curly hair was let loosely down on her shoulder, and her nose and cheeks showed a slight hint of pink from being outside for too long, also because she was crying.

"Kyoya, why didn't you tell me?" Tamaki screeched in his ear.

"I didn't feel it was necessary." He said then turned back to the girl. "Was your trip pleasant?"

"Yeah, I saw a bunch of people walking, and I can't wait to make friends with all them!" she smiled widely.

"I'm afraid I don't understand, you usually don't visit long enough."

"This isn't a visit." She tilted her head. "I didn't explain in my email? I'm moving here, and transferring to Ouran." Kyoya looked surprised, something they didn't see often.

"Who is she?" Haruhi asked the twins.

"We don't know." They said in unison.

The girl must have overheard them because she bowed in front of them and apologized. "Please, excuse me, I haven't introduced myself." She pointed to herself and smiled. "I'm Kaga Yuki, Tamaki's childhood friend."

"Eh?" Haruhi looked at her. "How come Tamaki never mentioned you?"

Haruhi could see Tamaki's face pale when she said this. "He never mentioned me?" she turned slowly to Tamaki. "You never mentioned me?" her smile seemed to get more and more menacing.

"It never got brought up!" Tamaki attempted to run but was tackled by the shorter girl. They rolled on the tiled floor and wrestled.

Kyoya sighed. "It's always like this when she comes, I'm afraid of what might happen now that she's staying." He pushed his glasses up.

 _Why does she seem so familiar?_ Kaoru was trying to place her. _I swear I've seen her before._ He was too deep in thought to hear his twin. "Kaoru!" Hikaru shook him. "You were spacing out."

"Sorry, Hikaru." He rubbed the back of his neck. "but doesn't she seem familiar to you too?" he thought that if he recognized her, his twin must have met her before.

"Sort of?" he raised a brow. "Hmm." He put a finger to his chin trying to remember.

"Yuki, I'm sorry!" Tamaki yelled trying to pry the girl off of him. She wouldn't budge.

However, if taken out of context, the way they were positioned would be considered questionable, and that's how it looked when a guest came in looking for her bag she had left behind.

"Oh…sorry?" she opened the doors to what appeared to be Tamaki and some unknown girl in a questionable situation. "I-I just came to get my bag, b-but I guess it can wait until t-tomorrow." She squealed as she shut the door. A conversation could be heard, she was telling her friend about Tamaki and his "Lover" as they so quaintly put it.

Haruhi sighed, that was enough for today. She picked up her books and started to the door. "It was nice meeting you Kaga-San." She said as she opened the door. Yuki got up and ran to Haruhi.

"Wait!" she grabbed Haruhi's arm with surprising strength. "I want to guess who is who." She explained. "I can't do that if you leave!" she whined. Yeah, Haruhi thought, this was definitely Tamaki's friend. She agreed to let Yuki guess.

"Well, obviously you two are the 'Shady Twins'," she laughed. "I think it was Kaoru and Hikaru, right?" she asked.

"Yes but..." Hikaru started.

"Can you guess who is who?" Kaoru finished.

"Is that one Hikaru, and that one Kaoru?" she pointed.

"Wrong!" they said together.

"Oh, really? But from Tamaki's letters, I was sure I was right." She thought about it. The twins' faces were surprised, of course she had gotten it right, but they thought she was just guessing. "Then you must be Honey-Sempai and Mori-Sempai, no?" she went over to the duo, Honey still eating cake, Mori standing stoically.

"That's right!" Honey looked at her. "Yuki-Chan, do you know Tamaki from when he was a kid?" he asked.

"Mm." she nodded.

"So you lived in France?" His eyes got wide.

"Most of my life, but I also lived in Scotland, Ireland, England, Germany, and Russia…" She counted off her fingers. Everyone stood in shock as she listed how many countries she lived in. "I think that's all…Oh, and America." She added.

"Wow!" Honey was impressed. "So you lived in all those places?"

"Yep!" she said proudly. "But only for a couple months at the most, although I lived in France for maybe a decade?" she looked over at Tamaki.

"Why did you move so much?" Haruhi asked.

"Because my Father moved around." She smiled. "Why are you wearing a boys uniform?" she asked.

"Ah!" Haruhi looked at her. Everyone else turned to her and started gaping.

"Nothing gets past you does it, Yuki?" Kyoya smiled.

"Nope!" she laughed. "If you're a cross dresser, than that means you're Haruhi?" she looked at her with wide eyes.

"Y-Yeah." Even Haruhi had to admit, Yuki was adorable, probably up there with Honey-sempai.

"So, what grade are you transferring into?" Hikaru asked curiously.

"I'm a first year." She smiled at him.

"Oh? So then you're in the same class as us." Yuki allowed him to look at her schedule. "Oh, you're in almost everything we're in." he looked at it. "Except for some art things." He handed it back to her.

"Some art things?" she pouted. Somehow, he made it sound insulting. She looked at him, and then turned to face Kaoru. "Why do you seem so familiar?"

So she thought it to? Kaoru thought. "Don't know, but I feel like I have seen you before." He thought hard about where, and then it hit him. Is she the girl from the fountain? He looked up at her; she had now lost interest and was catching up with Tamaki.

She had blonde hair, green eyes, and an air about her, one that makes you want to laugh. The girl from the fountain, he looked down, so that was her name, Kaga Yuki… Kaoru smiled.

* * *

 **Please R &R and give me ideas for the next one! Thank you. :)**


	3. Chapter 2: Yellow dress

Yuki walked down the hallways of Ouran, she stopped suddenly to see Haruhi walking by herself. "Haru-Chan!" she yelled and jumped onto Haruhi's back, she laughed and set her head against Haruhi's shoulder.

"Yuki-San!" Haruhi said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you like my dress?" she jumped off of Haruhi and twirled around, showing off her yellow, puffy dress.

"Yes, it suits you." Haruhi lied; she had never been a fan of the female uniforms.

"Yes, it is hideous, isn't it? It's okay, you don't have to lie." Yuki looked at her and smiled. "In fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't lie."

"Sorry." Haruhi returned the smile. "The dress itself is pretty bad, but I sill think yellow looks good on you."

"Thank you." They laughed together and walked down the halls.

When they got to their classes, Hikaru and Kaoru were already there. "Haruhi, where have you been? Class is starting soon and we don't like to be here before you." They got up and walked over to the two girls, hands in their pockets.

"Oh? You got your uniform, Yuki?" Hikaru looked over at her.

"Yes!" she said excitedly. "It came in today, and I thought I should where it." She twirled around again. "What do you think?"

"Hmm, the color suits you, but the dress is a little too much?" they ended with a questioning sound.

"Yeah, I thought so too." Haruhi said.

Yuki just smiled sweetly, making them feel guilty for saying anything. "So, what class is this?" she had forgotten to look at the schedule and just followed Haruhi.

Kaoru sighed. "This is mathematics." He said.

"Oh." She looked around, then her glances landed on a boy, he was talking to a girl and they seemed to be having fun. She wondered if she could make friends like that. Her gaze returned to the twins that were trying to get her attention.

"Yuki? Hello?" Hikaru waved his hand in front of her face.

"Hmm?" she said when she looked directly at him.

"Were you listening?" she shook her head. He sighed. "I said, you'll have to introduce yourself to the class." He pushed her forwards to the middle of the classroom. She looked around at the many faces looking up at her.

"Hello, my name is Kaga Yuki," she bowed then stood up straight and smiled with her eyes closed. "I look forwards to being your classmate." She then walked over to the empty seat by the twins and Haruhi.

And so the first impression the class got from her was: she was absolutely adorable! Yuki was too busy talking to the twins that she failed to notice a pair of grey eyes on her

* * *

 **I'm sorry that this chapter is so short. I've had difficulty actually sitting down to write anything, but, I hope to have a new chapter up soon, so please, hang in there! :)**


	4. chapter 3: Hiro and Kaoru

Yuki sat in the classroom; she was the first one there. That was a first. Were they even having this class today? She couldn't remember. Suddenly, she heard the door open, hoping to see Hikaru and Kaoru or Haruhi, she whipped her head around only to see a boy, and he seemed familiar.

"Oh, it's you." He said. "Are we the first here?" she nodded. "Ah, well…" he scratched the back of his neck.

She tilted her head in confusion. "Do I know you?" she asked tactlessly.

"No, but I've seen you in class." He sat down in the seat beside her. He sat with such laziness, that it reminded her of the twins. He had dark auburn hair that was tousled, and his uniform was worn carelessly. He had grey eyes and a masculine face; some might even consider him attractive, of course, not Yuki, who sat by the window in the back row, and was gazing at the passing storm clouds before he came in. "It looks like it's going to rain." He said as he looked pass her, out the windows.

"Yeah." She followed his gaze and admired the dark clouds as they passed over the school. She had always liked the rain, but she didn't enjoy lightning. It was a weird contrast. She noticed a feeling of someone looking at her and turned round to see him smiling gently at her. It was a warm smile that made her feel welcome, and his eyes resembled the storm clouds outside, the storm clouds she found so beautiful.

He realized he was staring. "O-Oh, I didn't mean to stare, it's just that you have beautiful hair." He began flustered but then smiled the same warm smile and she returned it.

"Thank you, of course most people here say that, they don't see Blondes often I assume?" she inquired and he laughed.

"I suppose not." They both began an interesting conversation. That stopped to look at who had opened the door now, it was Kaoru, Hikaru behind him and Haruhi must have been elsewhere.

"Sorry, are we interrupting something?"

"No, we we're just the first here. Where have you been?" Yuki asked.

"Trying to get Haruhi to put down a book is harder than you can imagine." Hikaru said, Kaoru strode into the room and took the seat in front of Yuki.

"So, what were you talking about?" Kaoru asked casually, but deep inside, he felt his chest tighten at the sight of her sitting there, talking to some unknown boy. He could have kicked himself for thinking that.

"Nothing much, just small talk." The boy said, he closed his eyes and lazily put his hands behind his head. Kaoru shot a glare at him; he wasn't talking to this idiot, he was talking to the other idiot. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards at that thought.

"Yeah, me and…umm…" she acted like she couldn't remember his name, Kaoru laughed on the inside. 'Sucks to be you buddy.' He thought

"Oh, that's right, you don't know my name." he said casually. 'Oh.' Kaoru thought. "Hiro Soga." He said.

"Soga?" Hikaru said as he took the seat next to Kaoru.

"Yeah." Hiro raised an eyebrow.

"Why does that sound familiar?" Hikaru turned to Kaoru. "Do you know?"

"No, but it does sound familiar." Kaoru shrugged simultaneously with Hikaru.

"Maybe you know my brother." Hiro said. After seeing the look of confusion on all three of his fellow classmates faces, he felt he needed to elaborate. Just as he was about to explain, the need became obsolete.

"Hiro!" said a male voice from behind as a familiar face opened the door. "I thought I said not to go without me!" they all turned around to see Kazukiyo Soga, the, cowardly, class president.

Hiro sighed. "I'm not your baby brother anymore, Kazu-Chan." He said slightly irritated. "If you haven't noticed, I can go off by myself."

"That doesn't mean you should." Kazukiyo muttered.

"What was that?" Hiro said sharply.

"N-Nothing." The class president looked away.

"So the class president is your brother?" the twins said in unison.

"Sadly, yes." He said with a glance at the nerdy, glasses wearing coward beside him. Kazukiyo winced.

"I take it you don't get along?" Yuki looked at him with innocent eyes.

"You guessed it!" Hiro laughed, she then returned the smile.

"Hiro, you shouldn't flirt right before class." Kazukiyo said, causing Hiro's eyebrow to twitch. The twins just went "Ooh." With wide eyes, they had never seen the timid class president say something like that. Kaoru did feel a little like strangling the class president and Hiro, at the moment.

"And you, dear brother, shouldn't feel the need to interfere with anything I say or do, we are after all, only half brothers." This hit the president hard.

"How dare you! We might as well be full blood brothers, we've lived together, eaten together…" then his eyes narrowed. "You even still crawl into my bed when you have nightmares."

That was it. Hiro's face flushed with embarrassment and anger. "I haven't done that in forever!" he retorted.

"A couple months is hardly forever!" they didn't realize the growing number of people in the classroom.

"We sleep together every night," the twins said together as they slung an arm over each other's shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Hiro seethed and Kazukiyo panicked. What had he done? They were finally getting along (somewhat) and here he just made it worse.

"They're the opposite of Hikaru and Kaoru." Said a familiar voice in the doorway.

"Haru-Chan!" Yuki jumped up from her seat and ran over to hug Haruhi. Taking everyone's attention away from the fighting siblings, even the fighting siblings had turned to look.

"Hello, Yuki." Haruhi said sweetly. She had already taken a liking to the cute little thing; she had even willingly invited Yuki to her house, which Yuki was going to after school. The twins had sauntered over to them by now.

"Hey Haruhi," Hikaru started.

"How about you," Kaoru said.

"Play a game with us?" they finished in unison, while leaning an arm each on Yuki's head.

"No thanks." She said in a monotone voice.

"Come on!" Hikaru exclaimed.

"No."

"It'll be fun!" Kaoru whined.

"No."

"Yuki?" they looked at her with hopeful eyes.

She looked confused for a minute then quickly realized what they wanted. "Haru-Chan, please? I don't want to play it alone!" she said with misty eyes and quivering bottom lip. She looked like a five year old that's been abandoned.

Haruhi couldn't look away. For an overgrown child, she sure had a way to get you to do what she wanted. "Fine." She reluctantly gave in.

"Yay!" Yuki pounced on Haruhi and hugged her tightly, a little too tight for Haruhi. Making the girls squeal and Hiro glare. Yuki had forgotten that everyone else thought Haruhi was a boy.

"Okay, Haruhi, you…" Hikaru began to whisper so no one else could hear them.

After that, class began. Finally! Haruhi thought. Everything went in one ear and out the other for the twins and Yuki.

After class, they were walking down the hallways to the Host Club. "So, why exactly do you want me to do this?" Haruhi said.

"It will be fun!" the twins said.

"Yeah, and we'll be matching!" Yuki said happily as they reached Music Room 3#.

They opened the doors and rose pedals attacked them. Yuki laughed and ran up to Tamaki to give him a hug. "Tama-Chan!"

"Yuki!" Tamaki returned the hug as if they hadn't seen each other in years.

"Haruhi, go on now." The twins said as they handed her an outfit. They handed another to Yuki.

"What's this?" Tamaki asked in confusion.

"You'll see." The twins said in unison. After awhile, the two girls stepped out of the dressing rooms in matching costumes.

"Why do I have to wear this?" Haruhi pointed at a Dalmatian costume. It was too big for her and the hood was the puppy face.

"Aww!" Tamaki exclaimed. "My sweet little girl is a puppy dog!" he ran to give her a hug but she moved and instead he ended up hugging Yuki, which he was okay with.

Yuki was dress in a similar outfit, except she didn't have a hood, she had a headband that had floppy ears, and her face was painted to look like a dog. "You look so cute, Yuki!" Tamaki said and he gave her a bear hug.

"Thanks Tama-Chan!" she returned the hug. She then walked over to the twins and the grinned.

"It suits you." Hikaru said.

"Maybe we should see how you would look as a cat?" Kaoru turned to Hikaru.

"That does seem right." He shrugged. "I guess you'll be our new female model."

"Why?" she tilted her head.

"Well, you may be short, but you're attractive enough to be a model, and you're a blonde so that's a bonus. It just makes sense; you should come and meet our mother for a job."

"Okay." She smiled sweetly, but they could tell she didn't understand anything they had just said.

"Alright, Gentlemen." Tamaki glanced over to Haruhi. "And ladies. It's time for the hosting hours to begin." The doors opened before Haruhi could change out of her outfit, squeals erupted as the girls got a look at Haruhi in her puppy outfit.

"Oh my God! Haruhi, you look so cute!" one girl squealed.

Then they caught a glance at something new in the Host Club, a small figure of a girl, wide eyed and dressed in a similar outfit. She looked like a baby to them.

They squealed once more and rushed over to Yuki. "Who are you?" one girl asked with a grin plastered on her face.

"Kaga Yuki." She said timidly. She had never gotten that much attention before.

"Aww!" the screeched as they all took her into a hug. "You're so adorable!"

"Who knew Yuki would be getting more attention from the girls than the boss?" Hikaru said.

"Yeah, but for some reason, I expected the boss to get jealous." Kaoru looked over at the happy Tamaki.

"He seems pretty happy right now." Hikaru said at a glance to Tamaki.

"Yes, well, he's probably happy for Yuki." Kyoya snuck up behind them.

"What do you mean?" they said together.

"She didn't exactly have the greatest childhood, her mother died when she was an infant, and her father didn't spend much time with her. It was really up to Tamaki and his family to take care of her." Kyoya said as he pushed up his glasses. "You see, Tamaki's father occasionally did business with her father, enough anyway so they became friends. Yuki considered Tamaki's mother like her own and spent a majority of her time with them, it was only when Tamaki got sent here that they started speaking less."

The twins looked at him. "So, she was neglected by her only parent?" Hikaru said angrily.

"Yes, but if you ask her, she would say she had a happy childhood, after all, she didn't know much else. I first met her during middle school, when she came to visit Tamaki." Kaoru was reminded of the fountain, when he first met her. "Back then, she was almost exactly the same. But if you paid enough attention, you probably could see she was sadder then." He thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, I don't know where her father is at the moment."

"You met her during middle school?" Hikaru said.

"Yes, what of it?"

"It's just that, I think we did too." He said. 'So he does remember!' Kaoru thought.

"Yeah, by the fountain." Kaoru said to Hikaru.

"You're right, I knew she seemed familiar." Hikaru said.

"Well, that's not surprising, I'm pretty sure I saw you two during one of her visits."

"I wonder if she remembers." Kaoru looked over to the puppy dog getting so much attention from the guests and Tamaki.

Haruhi felt relieved when she saw Tamaki paying less attention to her. She couldn't believe it; Tamaki always bugged her, now she can finally study, of course after she entertained the guests.

"Yuki-Chan, can you stand right here?" one girl asked. She shoved Yuki beside Honey.

"I can't tell who's cuter." Another girl said surprised.

"I know!" they all said, hearts floating above them.

"Yuki-Chan, do you want some cake?" Honey asked. Yuki looked over to the table filled with delicious cakes. She nodded while holding her finger to her mouth. Every girl looked with hearts in their eyes. "Which one do you want?" Honey asked.

"That one?" she pointed at a chocolate cake with vanilla icing and strawberries on top. Mori handed her a plate. She hesitantly took a bite; she blushed and widened her eyes. She held her cheek and nibbled on the fork. "It's good isn't it?" Honey took a big bite of his cake.

She nodded. "Do you like strawberries?" she asked.

"Mm." he nodded. "You do too right?"

"Yeah." She said with an open grin, some icing got on her cheek as she sat eating cake with Honey.

"They're so cute!" all the girls screamed, some even fainted.

"Do you want some cake, Mori-Sempai?" Yuki asked. He shook his head politely.

"No, thank you." He said in a deep voice.

Yuki just hummed and continued eating cake.

After the guests left, Yuki stayed behind to help clean up.

"I can see why you do this, Tama-Chan, its pretty fun." Yuki smiled.

"Isn't it?" Tamaki smiled proudly. "So how are your classes going?"

"Fine, I met some interesting people." She thought back to the class president and Hiro.

"Oh, really? That's great!" he hugged her.

"Oh, I better go soon. Father is going to be worried." She looked at her watch.

"Isn't he at dad's office?" Tamaki thought about it. "I thought he was going to discuss something."

"This is the first I've heard about it."

"Well, maybe I can stay then, if he's here." She shrugged. "He'll probably come collect me."

"Yay!" they laughed together.

"Oh hey, Yuki, that guy's here; he wants to talk to you." Hikaru said casually.

"Guy?" Yuki looked over at the door to see Hiro. "Oh, what are you doing here?" she walked over to him and smiled.

"I heard you were here and wanted to give you this." He handed her a book. "You dropped it when you left class-" he finally noticed her outfit. "What are you wearing?"

"I'm a puppy!" she grinned. "Kaoru and Hikaru let me wear it."

"O-Okay…" he blushed. "It looks good on you." He mumbled.

"Thanks." She laughed.

Kaoru looked over and saw Hiro's blush and her smile; this wasn't good…why wasn't it good? He couldn't help but get a strange feeling in his gut, like someone was twisting his stomach. It was the same feeling he got when he was in the classroom earlier.

"What are you talking about?" he couldn't help it, so he walked over and slung an arm around Yuki's shoulders and gave Hiro a tight smile, which was returned with a glare.

"He likes the outfit." Yuki beamed, causing Kaoru's feeling to double. "And he's returning a book I dropped."

"Oh?" Kaoru took the book before Hiro could say anything. "Gulliver's Travels?" he read the title.

"Yeah, Father said I should read it, so I'm glad he returned it."

Kaoru looked over to Hiro, who was giving a smirk. "Yeah, thanks Hiro." Kaoru said flatly. "But you can go now."

"Why is that?" Hiro replied. Yuki had been forgotten, so she skipped over to Haruhi to talk about later today.

"Because you returned it, so why stick around?"

"I'm sorry, are you and Yuki a thing?"

"No." Kaoru didn't see what Hiro was getting at.

"Then you shouldn't mind." Hiro shrugged.

"Mind what?"

"Me asking her out."

The feeling returned, but this time, it was partnered with severe anger. "No…Wouldn't mind at all…" Kaoru ground his teeth.

"Good." Hiro turned to the door. "Cause you know, I wouldn't want to get in between anything." He smirked and walked out the door, leaving a confused and angry Kaoru behind him.

* * *

 **Sorry It's been like a month since I last updated, I had some writers block so if this chapter isn't very good, I apologize. But anyway, please review and tell me what you think, your reviews are always appreciated. Thank you.**


	5. Chapter 4: Tea with Haruhi

Haruhi walked into her house, a certain blonde trailing behind her.

"I'm home." She announced, in case her dad was home, but chances were he was still at work.

"Wow!" Yuki raced past her and into the small place. Haruhi half-expected her to say something along the lines of 'this place is so small' or 'poor commoner'.

"Do you want some tea?" Haruhi placed her bag in her room and called to Yuki.

"Yes please! Can I help you make it?" she looked at Haruhi with hopeful eyes.

"Sure." Haruhi sighed. They started making the tea; Yuki seemed fascinated by everything like a newborn baby seeing the world for the first time.

After the tea was made, they sat at the table with the sweets Yuki brought in front of them.

"Was Kaoru acting weird?" Yuki said out of nowhere.

"I didn't notice anything different." Haruhi shrugged.

She hummed and sipped her tea. "Do you live here with your father?"

"Yes."

"Where's your mother?"

Haruhi looked up at Yuki. "She died." She said simply.

Yuki looked down her tea and stirred it idly. "My mother died when I was a baby. I don't really remember her."

Haruhi looked surprised. "And I heard you talk about your father earlier, do you live with him?"

Yuki's brows furrowed and she seemed deep in thought. She recalled her father talking to her after club.

He had told her he would be leaving for awhile; she would stay with Tamaki and his family, although Tamaki was in the second mansion so she would be too. It surprised her how much her father and Tamaki's trusted them enough to let them sleep in the same house, or maybe they just didn't care. Tamaki and she had had sleepovers before, but that was when they were children, it was strange to let two teenagers live in the same house.

"No." she replied.

Haruhi stared at her in confusion for a second but decided to leave the subject. "My dad should be back soon, do you want to meet him?" she immediately regretted asking that.

"Can I?" Yuki grinned.

"Sure." Haruhi sighed again.

* * *

"Haruhi?" The familiar voice of Ranka echoed through the small apartment. "I'm home!"

Ranka paused when he heard a squeal of delight. "You must be Haruhi's dad!" a small blonde girl with red streaks. "Wow, you're different then I thought you would be."

Ranka just stared at the small foreign girl.

"Oh, Dad, you're home." Haruhi appeared.

Ranka looked between the small girl and his daughter. "You brought home a friend?" he walked over to Haruhi. "I'm so happy!" he hugged her, completely forgetting about the blonde.

"Dad, this is Yuki, she's Tamaki's friend." Both Ranka and Yuki's faces fell, fo different reasons. "I mean, she's my friend too." Yuki's face brightened.

"She's Tamaki's friend then?" Ranka eyed Yuki carefully.

"Yes sir, I grew up in France with him." She smiled sweetly.

Ranka smiled approvingly. "Well them, welcome to Japan. You're new to school?"

"Yes sir!"

"I hope you're having fun." They went into a full blown conversation about school, France, Japan, for some reason food, and Ranka's job.

"It seems interesting." Yuki thought about it. "So does being a tranny mean you like guys?"

"No no!" Ranka smiled.

Haruhi sighed; she hadn't really been participating in their conversations, mostly because she had gotten bored, she said nodded occasionally. She felt like something was going to happen, and when the doorbell rang, she decided to trust her instincts from then on.

And who was at the door? Think of who might feel left out, you guessed it! The Host Club!

As soon as she opened the door, Haruhi slammed it shut again, before either of them could put their foot in the door or say a word.

"Haruhi?" Tamaki whined.

"Go away." She said sternly.

She heard the twins sigh and make a remark to Tamaki, which only caused him to whine even more.

"Okay, if you're not going to let me in, maybe Yuki will." Then he started banging on the door yelling for Yuki, the girl rushed in obediently and took note of Haruhi's exhausted face and Tamaki's voice outside.

"What Tama-chan?" she sighed.

"Let me in."

"But this isn't my house." She shrugged as if he could see her.

Haruhi smiled at the girl. "It's my house, so go away Sempai." She repeated.

The Host Club grumbled and marched down the steps.

The two girls cracked open the door, only to see a pair of grinning faces staring at them. "Gotcha!" the shouted and put a foot in the door.

The rest of the Host Club soon joined them, forcing their way through the door.

"You tricked us!" Yuki whined.

"Sorry Yu-chan." Honey stood on his toes and patted her head. "But Tamaki said he needed to talk to you."

Yuki looked over at Tamaki. "What did you need to talk to me about?" but when Tamaki's face grew serious, she had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to talk about. "Oh." She looked down at the ground.

Kyoya, ever the perceptive one, ushered everyone into the room Ranka resided in, with one last glance back at the two friends, he shut the door.

"Dad talked to me about…" he trailed off.

"It's okay, there's nothing to talk about." She smiled, but Tamaki knew better, he was an idiot when it came to most things, but not when it came to Yuki. "It'll be just like the old days, when I spent the night."

He walked over and hugged her. "It's not right, Yuki. How can you just sit back and let him do this to you?"

"You know as well as I do, there's nothing I can do." She gripped the back of his shirt, not wanting the tears in her eyes to fall. "Besides, It's not his fault, he's just sad because of mom."

"That's no excuse!" he shouted, causing her to jump. "If you won't get mad, then I'll get mad for you." The tears started to fall. "We may not be able to get them to change their minds, but we can still get mad, that's our right."

He looked her in the eyes with sincerity. He had always been her friend, always stuck up for her, why stop now?

She nodded hesitantly and hugged him tighter. Her best friend had always been there for her. They stayed like that for a moment before her pulled away and let his hands rest on her shoulders.

"Why'd you dye your hair?" he asked out of the blue.

"I don't know, I wanted change I guess." She touched a red strand. "And not the kind where I'm moving around." She added.

"I like it." he patted her head affectionately. "Although I can only imagine what your father said about it."

She laughed mirthlessly and looked away. "He wasn't exactly amused."

Tamaki grinned. "I can imagine the look on his face." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, all previous tension forgotten.

They laughed and slid open the door where the Host Club was. Only, when they opened the door, a pair of twins fell to the floor.

Yuki blinked. "Were you listening?" she looked accusingly at the two red heads.

They laughed nervously.

"I told you not to." Haruhi sighed in irritation.

"Kyoya…" Tamaki looked to the bespectacled boy.

"I brought them in here, it's not my fault they listened in." he said bored.

"So, what were you talking about?" Hikaru looked at both blondes.

"Nothing that concerns you." Yuki waved him off and sat down beside Haruhi, but one look at their crestfallen faces and she sat down by them.

They grinned victoriously and slung an arm each around her shoulders as she sighed guiltily.

She looked over to the twin on her left then to the one on her right, trying to figure which is which. The one on the left was more hesitant to put his arm around her, the one on the right acted more casually, and there was more of a mischievous glint in the one on the right's eye. Left is Kaoru, right is Hikaru.

She turned her head to Kaoru when no one was paying attention. "What did you and Hiro talk about?" she asked innocently, but she noticed him tense.

"Nothing." He turned his head away from her.

She continued to stare at him, knowing he wasn't saying all the truth. He felt himself start to crumble under her gaze.

"Are you lying?" she narrowed her eyes.

"N-No." he laughed. Hikaru turned his head in surprise at his twin.

"Okay then…" she looked back at the table and he pulled his arm back and looked down at the table, Hikaru did the same, but he stared at Kaoru. A silence fell on the table. "I don't see why you have any reason to lie." She smiled sincerely at him.

He avoided eye contact with her, and then he noticed his twin staring at him. He looked at Hikaru as if to say I'll tell you later.

Hikaru nodded slightly and hesitantly looked back at the rest of the table. But now everyone's eyes were on the three.

"Oh dear, it seems we've run out of tea!" Ranka exclaimed in an attempt to defuse the tension. "Kaoru, Hikaru, can you help me make it?" he grabbed both of their hoods and dragged them into the kitchen, leaving a confused Yuki behind.

But now that the twins were gone, everyone looked at Yuki.

"Is that what you meant when you asked if Kaoru was acting weird?" Haruhi looked at her.

She shrugged. "I don't think I know him well enough to guess." She sipped her now empty tea cup, and they watched her keep sipping imaginary tea.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen…

The two twins sat idly as Ranka gathered together the ingredients for tea. The waited for him to say something, but for some reason, he didn't.

The silence was becoming too loud and Hikaru decided to break it. "So, I'm not sure why you need both of us to help you, we'll just go get Tamaki to help." He started to stand up but Ranka interrupted him.

"Sit down." He said sternly, and then his eyes wandered over to Kaoru. He couldn't tell which was which, but their clothing was slightly different so if he learnt their names now, he could tell them apart later. "So who's who?"

"Guess." Kaoru grinned mischievously.

"No tell me which one so has a crush on Tamaki's friend." He smirked as one blushed and the other grinned.

The one grinning looked over to his twin knowingly. "It's not me…" he smirked, causing his twin to glare at him.

"Right so, you then?" he looked to Kaoru.

"No." he denied. "I don't know what you're talking about." He stood up, only to have Ranka push him back down.

"Oh no…" Hikaru bit his lip. "You're growing up." He wiped an imaginary tear.

"What about you and Haruhi?" he bit back.

Ranka's expression went blank and he looked at Hikaru.

"What are you talking about Kaoru?" Hikaru squeaked.

Kaoru sighed. "Exactly, there's nothing to talk about."

"What were you and Hiro talking about then?" Hikaru countered.

He paused. "He was returning Yuki's book."

"No, after that," Hikaru stared at Kaoru. "You came back all mad like someone had just told said you couldn't have a toy…" he trailed off with a smirk as Kaoru huffed and looked away.

"I swear…" Ranka shook his head. "Kids these days are clueless." He poured the boiling water into the cups.

* * *

 **Sorry it's been awhile, I have some other stories...not all have been put up and I realize I should be working on the ones that are up. I feel like I'm moving too fast for this story, Kaoru's not supposed to realize he like's her for awhile, so I'm going to slow down a bit. That might mean less Kaoru/Yuki moments but it's for the sake of the story!**

 **Thanks to Wikked, StardustRoad, and puppies659 for your reviews!**

 **And don't forget to review yourself! Then you'll get a thanks too!**


	6. Chapter 5: Bullied

**This chapter's a little sad, but it had to be done.**

* * *

Hiro walked down the hallways, his cowardly brother was nowhere to be found, thankfully.

He saw a flash of blonde and swiftly turned his head, but no, it wasn't who he thought it was, it was Tamaki Suoh and Kyoya Ootori, probably on their way to class, in fact, that's where he should be heading.

He sighed; he really didn't want to be here. He had never wanted to go to Ouran like his brother. He had wanted to go to a commoner school, see the world outside his sheltered little life, sometimes he could laugh at how different he is from his brother.

There was no point in him being here, it wasn't like he was going to take over the family business, because he wasn't the oldest. Maybe his parents just wanted him here so it looked like they cared. But they didn't, they would keep up appearances but they don't even like each other, the family dinners are spent in silence, the grades are unnoticed, Hiro learned a long time ago not to bother, nobody was going to look at the youngest so it didn't matter. But in a way, he was thankful, he wouldn't have to put up with his parents disappointment, or running the business, the weight of knowing your life will never be private…he didn't envy Kazukiyo in the least.

Well, he can't say he's not ungrateful; he doesn't take his life for granted like most of the students here. And he can't say his life here is boring, no…a certain blonde French girl has seen to that.

He's seen her, she's only been here for a week or so, but he's noticed her, how could you not? The way she'd stumble into class with those red-headed idiots and Haruhi, they way she'd laugh at something no one else see's in the middle of class, the way her hair looks with those red streaks… ah…

He shook his head, he's noticed she's cute, worth a date maybe…but he doesn't like her…

He narrowed his eyes as someone bumped into him; he looked down to see a brown haired boy, Haruhi.

"Oh Hiro, sorry," Haruhi apologized. "I should have looked where I was going."

"It's fine." He nodded. "Is Yuki with you?"

"No, she went back to the music room, said she forgot her bag or something like that." Haruhi sighed. "She's going to be late for class."

"Right…" was all Hiro could manage, why had he asked that?

"Are you heading to Algebra?" Haruhi asked.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Want to walk together?"

Hiro thought about it, Yuki isn't in this class, neither are those insufferable twins. "Yeah, sure." He shrugged as they walked to the class.

When they got there, Hiro had forgotten someone to scratch off the list of people in that class…Kazukiyo Soga.

"Hiro, Haruhi-kun, you made it just in time." The Class President waved them over.

Haruhi looked hesitantly at Hiro, who was avoiding looking at the President.

"Umm…" Haruhi started towards the president but looked back at Hiro. "You should join us."

He looked over at the President. "Maybe another time…" he mumbled and walked over to the back of the class room.

Haruhi watched him walk away, and then looked over at the President's crestfallen face. She walked over while Momoka Kurakano smiled sadly.

"Hiro doesn't hate him…" she mumbled to Haruhi. "They just…don't have the best relationship." she struggled for the words.

Haruhi looked between them and saw the slight resemblance; both of their eyes were grey, their face structure was similar, but that's where it ended.

"Yeah…" she sat by the President.

Class began as if nothing had just happened; no tension was in the air.

* * *

Yuki searched for her bag, it was those twins fault. They made her try on some outfits and when she changed they put her bag somewhere and left before they told her where it was.

"Hello?" she heard a voice and the sound of the door opening. "Is anyone here?"

Yuki was about to make her presence known, but when she saw a girl step carefully into the Club room, she thought against it. This girl looked like a third year, maybe in Honey and Mori's class?

The girl had short, dark brown hair that curled inward at her chin, a small purple ribbon tied to a strand of her hair, her eyes were a startling blue and it was clear she wasn't Japanese. She walked around the room, as if searching for something.

Yuki realized she was looking for someone there, so she quickly hid behind the curtain until the girl turned around.

"Is it clear?" another voice came from behind the open door, Yuki was at an awkward angle so she couldn't see the doorway.

"Yeah." The brown haired girl whispered and snuck over to the doorway, Yuki heard them whispering but couldn't make out what was said.

"Come on." The other girl entered, Yuki noticed her extremely curly, glossy black hair, almost an afro but not quite, a grey head-band kept it out of her dark brown eyes, and Yuki couldn't tell whether her milk chocolate skin was complemented in the bright yellow dress or looked completely odd.

"We shouldn't be here." The brown haired girl whispered harshly.

"I just need a look around." The dark skinned girl smirked. "It'll only be a moment."

Yuki recognized a cockney accent in the newer girl; the other girl seemed to have a normal Japanese accent so she must have been raised here

"Farah!" the brown haired girl looked with pleading eyes. "We're going to get caught!"

Farah grinned knowingly. "No we ain't, Hilda, the Club are all in class." She waltzed in without a care.

So one girl is German and the other British, Farah might be foreign exchange.

Hilda sighed in defeat and watched the door while Farah walked around.

Yuki's eyes narrowed when she saw her pick up a familiar bag from under a table. So that's where the twins put it…

Who's…Kaga Yuki?" the girl read the name tag inside.

Hilda looked over and saw the bag. "Must be the new girl who's always hanging around the Club." She shrugged. "Walked in here like she owns the place and suddenly she's the Club's favorite girl…" she said bitterly.

"Sound like someone's jealous." Farah smirked.

"All the girls are." She huffed in irritation, unaware of a fuming girl behind the curtain.

Yuki blushed furiously, she had not walked in like she owns the place, and she only hands around the club because of Tamaki, then she became friends with the others, it's not her fault.

"Well, she left her bag." She tossed the brown leather bag over on a couch near Hilda. Yuki didn't like the mischievous glint in Hilda's eyes when she looked at the bag.

Hilda slowly slid from her seat on the couch opposite and grinned. "You know…" Farah looked over to her as she spoke. "I think the Host Club is only friends with her out of pity," she picked up the bag and pretended to inspect it. "She seems to have let that go to her head…" she grinned at Farah who returned it. "Maybe we should let her know her place."

Yuki watched as they dumped the books out of her bag and tossed it aside, it's too late to make her presence known now.

"What's this?" Farah raised an eyebrow at an antique necklace as she held it up for Hilda to see.

"Looks fragile…" she looked innocently at it.

"And important, maybe it hold sentimental value…" they grinned devilishly at the same time, reminding Yuki of the twins when they're about to do something horrible.

"Oops." Farah chucked it out the window into the pond below.

They laughed and started doing the same to all Yuki's books and even the old leather bag.

"Now…What did we come here for?" Hilda sighed contently after trashing everything in Yuki's bag.

"Ah, that's right." Farah looked around until she found what looked like the gold bracelets Tamaki had worn earlier as part of his costume, but Yuki wasn't paying attention.

All her thoughts were on that necklace they had found, it was very old, been in her family for generations…the only thing she had from her mother.

They left with a few more chuckles about the bag.

"Maybe she'll realize where she belongs now." Hilda laughed.

"I don't really care." Farah smirked. "That was just fun."

"Either way, she'll get the message; she should just go back to France." And with that, the door slammed shut.

Yuki stumbled out of the curtain, her knees felt weak. She slowly tried making her way to the door, but her vision blurred with tears and the laughter of the two girls echoed in her ears.

She leaned back against the wall and looked beside her out the window, her bag was getting ruined, her necklace was solid silver and had probably floated down to the bottom to tarnish, her books were getting wet and ruined…but she couldn't will herself to get up.

She slowly slid down the wall and clutched her knees to her chest. Why had this gotten to her so badly? She was used to other people criticizing her, used to them making fun of her and talking behind her back. Maybe a part of her felt that what they had said was true, she hadn't thought about the other people who had been trying to be the Host Club's friends, and yet here she was, hanging around them all day after only a little more than a week.

She knew most people would wish someone was there, but she had grown so independently that she knew no one would come, no one would know she was hurting…she didn't want them to. She had always been good at that, hiding her true feelings, keeping herself in check. She had to, after all, growing up with someone like Tamaki who wore their heart on their sleeve didn't really make her feel like showing her own heart, there wasn't enough room…

She cursed herself for letting them get to her, maybe these tears were just the ones yet to shed, she didn't cry in front of people, at least not real tears, she could conjure up fake ones for added affect, but not real ones. She had been hurting from her recent move to Tamaki's, her father had left so quickly it barely left her anytime to say goodbye. He was always either on the phone discussing his moving, or too busy packing to even ask her if she was alright about his leaving, but she was used to that, the only goodbye she got was a quick peck on the cheek and a hurried wave as he rushed onto the airplane.

And so she sat there, playing a game of 'Chicken' with her tears, who will fall first? She laughed bitterly at the thought. But that's not how she is, she's cheerful, happy-go-lucky, not a care in the world, that was Kaga Yuki, not this depressing, weak, ball in the corner of Music Room #3.

She furiously wiped away her tears, leaving her eyes red and blurry once again. She felt her cheeks burning as evidence of her recent sadness and embarrassment. She knew there was little she could do about it so she stood up, keeping her shoulders straight and eyebrows drawn together in fierce determination as she patted the bit of dust on her bright yellow dress.

"Come on!" she told herself as she slapped her cheeks. "Get a hold of yourself, you're a Kaga damn it!" she huffed and swiftly marched out the door, aware she was skipping class. She paused for a moment, wondering if someone might be out and asks her what she's doing out of class, so she turned towards the double stairs and quickly jogged down them, running out the door as fast as she could to the pond on the other side.

As she neared the pond with the stone baby peeing in it, she took a shaky breath to calm herself the determination had long since disappeared, leaving her sluggish and depressed. She shook her head of the thoughts and her eyes sparked with anger.

"Just a little further Yuki, come one, you can do it!" she muttered to herself, knowing that she would be considered pretty odd if anyone was near.

The pond came into view and she rushed to it, she quickly pulled out her bag first and then her books.

She inspected her bag, seeing the damage, it wasn't too extensive, and so she went to her books and laid them out to dry.

She took off her shoes and knee high-socks; she lifted the hem of her skirt and waded in the pond. Nothing was there, so she went in further, she saw the glint of something shiny and ran toward it, accidently getting the bottom of the dress wet. She reached down into the water and pulled out her necklace, it hadn't tarnished so she picked up her dress again, well aware that it wouldn't do any good now that it was soaked.

She gently laid the necklace down, and plopped down on the edge of the pond, letting her dress dry. She sighed and closed her eyes. Maybe she should spend less time with the Host Club…

* * *

 **I know, I know, a miracle has taken place! I've updated within a month of the last update, and I'm so proud *wipes tear*. Anyways...**

 **Thanks to SCARLETCOIN2012 for your review.**

 **I'm thinking about doing a one-shot of them in collage.** **I'm sure you have guessed that Yuki and Kaoru will be together at least by collage so I might do a one-shot of them together because let's face it, I'm impatient and I'm not sure if I can wait for this story to get there before writing it.**

 **Please tell me if I should do the one-shot...or two-shot, whatever, and I'll tell you when it's up. Also, if you want me to write it, ideas will be welcome! Tell me what you want and I'll write it!**

 **Any questions about Yuki, Hilda, Farah, Hiro, or any other character, please ask. I'll be happy to answer them.**

 **And those Ball chapters will be coming soon, also flashbacks/old pictures will be present in the next few chapter.**

 **Please, please, please review and tell me what you think!**


	7. Chapter 6: Memories and Healing

**I am on a roll! I think it's been less than a week after I posted the last chapter, whoo!**

* * *

The Host Club hadn't seen Yuki in awhile, Tamaki rarely saw her some out of her room, and the classes she had with the twins or Haruhi were spent in silence.

Tamaki began to worry; in fact he'd been worried since the day it started, when she gave him the cold shoulder and locked herself in her room. He thought maybe it was because she missed her father, but as the weeks went on, there was no change.

"Yuki?" Tamaki whined outside her door. "Did I do something wrong?"

Yuki looked at the door with wide eyes. "N-No!" she shouted. "It's nothing, nothing's wrong…" she looked back down at the floor.

Tamaki's brows creased in concern for his oldest friend. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He ran to his room and whipped out his cell phone.

"Hello?" grumbled Kyoya.

"Kyoya, I need to call an emergency meeting of the Host Club." He whispered as if she were right outside the door.

There was a pause before Kyoya spoke again. "Tamaki…what's this about?"

"There's something wrong with Yuki, it's an emergency! Call the rest of the Host Club, hurry!"

There was another pause before he heard Kyoya sigh. "There's not much of a choice here is there? Alright…" he hung up before Tamaki could say anything else.

Not long after that, Tamaki heard the hurried footsteps up the stairs to the mansion, he looked out the window and saw everyone rushing to the door. He ran out the room and threw the door open.

The twins and Haruhi were panting while Honey looked worried; Mori and Kyoya seemed as cool-headed as always.

"W-What is it?" Haruhi looked almost as worried as Tamaki felt.

"Is there something wrong with Yuki?" Hikaru asked.

"Is she sick?" Kaoru looked around the big hall.

"I'm not sure; she's not talking to me." Tamaki bit his lip to keep his tears at bay.

All heads turned to him.

"You called us here under the assumption she's in danger…because she's ignoring you?" Kyoya pushed up his glasses.

"But it's been going on for weeks!" Tamaki screeched.

"Come to think of it, she has been pretty distant lately." Haruhi thought about it for a moment.

"She hasn't said a word to us." Kaoru and Hikaru said in unison.

"Maybe she is sick…" Honey whined. "Should we go get medicine?"

"No, let's try talking to her first." Kyoya said.

They stood in front of her door and looked at Tamaki.

"What?" he asked.

"Who's going to talk to her?" Haruhi asked.

"She must be ignoring Tamaki for a reason so not him." Kyoya sighed.

"Kyoya, do you want to try? You did meet her in middle school, so you've known her longest, after Tamaki of course." Haru asked him.

"By that standard, the twins should go in." they all looked at the twins.

"What do you mean, Kyoya?" Tamki asked worriedly.

"They met her too." He said simply.

"Only once." Hikaru defended. "Right, Kaoru?" But Kaoru was staring at the door, lost in thought.

He was thinking about what might be wrong with Yuki, ever since she skipped class a couple weeks ago, she had been pretty distant. Maybe he had down something? But he couldn't think of anything more cruel than anything he and Hikaru usually did, and she always forgave them if their prank somehow backfired on her, sometimes the silent treatment would be put into effect, but it only lasted at the most a few days, and he was sure they deserved it.

But right now he couldn't think of anything he had done. He would have heard if Tamaki or someone had done something…right? She would have told him…well not him specifically, maybe Haruhi or Tamaki…now he's stammering in his own thoughts.

"Kaoru?" Hikaru's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Hmm?" he said absent-mindedly, but immediately gave Hikaru his full attention when he saw the devilish smirk he was doing. "What?"

"Maybe Kaoru should go talk to her?" Hikaru suggested, satisfied when Kaoru's eyes widened.

"Why?" Tamaki asked, suspicious of what Hikaru's motives might be.

"Well, they get along so well." He smirked at Kaoru, who was frowning at his twin.

"I think Haruhi should do it!" Kaoru countered.

"Why me?" Haruhi frowned.

"You know…girl talk…" Kaoru tried to cover, but was pretty miserable at it.

Lucky for him, Tamaki is an idiot. "That's right. Haruhi, go talk to her." He knocked on the door softly.

"W-What?" Haruhi stuttered.

"Go away, Tamaki." A soft, melodic voice rang out. Kaoru felt his chest tighten when he heard the way she spoke, sad and lonely…

"I-It's Haruhi…" Haruhi said, unsure of what to say.

There was silence, but they heard her small foot-steps and the doorknob clicked open. "What is it, Haruhi?"

"I was just…" she trailed off, looking down the hallway where the Host Club had retreated; they gave her a 'thumbs up'. "I wanted to check up on you?" she meant to sound confident, but it came out more of a question.

"I'm fine…" she mumbled.

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Yuki shrunk back under Haruhi's stare. "Y-Yeah." She swallowed nervously.

Haruhi's stare intensified. "Nothing's happened?"

Yuki sighed and stuck her head outside the door; she caught a glimpse of the Host Club duck behind the turn in the hallway. Then she grabbed Haruhi by the arm and pulled her inside the room.

Haruhi's immediate thought was to clean, because obviously it was not Yuki's top priority judging by the state of her room.

"Did a tornado rip through here?" Haruhi smirked a little when she saw Yuki's face pout with embarrassment, and then she realized the twins might be rubbing off a little.

"No, it just sort of…happened." She laughed nervously.

Haruhi took another look at Yuki; she hadn't noticed the red streak starting to fade into a sort of burnt-orangey look, it still looked cool, but in a different way. She was wearing a black and deep red, Aztec printed cardigan over a black tank top with faded blue skinny jeans, and her hair was put into a pony tail with the burnt-orange streak braided into it. Haruhi couldn't figure out why she looked like she was ready to leave when school was out today, and from what Tamaki said, she doesn't really leave the mansion a lot.

Then Haruhi looked down and saw Yuki wearing baby pink slippers with stuffed animals on them. Those seemed to suit her more than the rest of her outfit. Haruhi smiled at Yuki's childishness.

She looked around the room, noting the king sized canopy bed, it looked hand-carved and was absolutely beautiful, with designs that must have taken ages to carve out, and a Magnolia flower carved into the headboard. The sheets were white but the comforter was black and had a white Willow tree was designed on it, the pillows were thrown about but from what Haruhi could tell, they were all either black or white, and two small pillows were a soft blue. Haruhi didn't have to try it to know it was probably the softest bed she's ever been in.

Her eyes went over to a small sitting area with leather seats and even a brick fireplace, then she looked up to see a beautiful chandelier, it wasn't extravagant, it was simple and elegant, with black, metal that looped around in circles, made to look like a tree branch, the light bulbs were disguised to look like candles and whoever disguised them did a pretty good job because for a second, Haruhi thought the ceiling might catch fire.

The walls were soft white, with mint green trim; the floor was hard wood, only a small, fluffy, white rug sat in the middle of the entire room. Haruhi could see a couple pictures on the fire place, and some on the white shelves filled with books, lining one wall completely.

She looked at Yuki and saw her sitting on her bed, hugging a stuffed dog that looked old and raggedy, with patches and even a rope tied around its neck as a makeshift collar. She felt Yuki wouldn't say anything for awhile and decided to walk over to one of the many bookshelves.

She picked up a framed photograph of a young man, woman, and a baby that looked barely even one. The man had dark brown hair that was shaggy and got into his blue eyes, the woman was beautiful, she had blonde curls and her emerald eyes danced with laughter as she watched her husband attempt to control his unruly hair, in her arms laid a baby girl, short, curly blonde hair and dark green eyes, she looked confused but also excited. The father wore a nice, black suit with a green tie that matched his wife's eyes, the wife wore a gorgeous, soft red dress with a square neck and pink sleeves that covered her shoulders loosely, a pink bow on her chest that the baby seemed to be playing with, the baby had a pink ribbon in her hair, leaving a half ponytail in the blonde locks, her pink dress had blue accents and her small feet had black buckled shoes.

Haruhi could tell immediately who it was, she had seen Yuki's father when he left, the brown hair was graying and his face showed his age, but he looked handsome and sophisticated instead of just an old man of forty-something…she never actually got his age, but from this picture he was probably in his early twenties when he had Yuki.

The baby was very obviously Yuki, and the woman must be Yuki's mother. Haruhi smiled softly, she was certainly beautiful.

"I only have a few pictures of her." Yuki's voice interrupted Haruhi's thoughts. "Father put them all up, I'm not sure where."

Haruhi looked at her, and then back to the picture which she placed carefully back to its place.

"Why did he do that?" she asked sincerely.

Yuki looked down at the stuffed dog. "I wondered that for a long time, for a long while, I thought maybe it was because he hated her." She looked pained. "Then I realized it was because he loved her. It's his way of wanting to not acknowledge she's dead." Yuki looked up at Haruhi. "That's why he doesn't like me, because I remind him of her. He's been in denial for almost fourteen years."

"How did she die?" she whispered, knowing it might be hard for Yuki, after all, she's been through that too, only she had her dad there for her, Yuki didn't.

"A car accident." She said simply and sighed. "I don't remember much about her, sometimes I remember a laugh or sometimes just a glimpse of her…but I was only one when it happened, so it's never really much," she smiled sweetly. "I don't even know if their real memories or I just made them up after seeing the pictures." Haruhi felt like hugging the girl.

"I'm so sorry, Yuki." Was all she could say?

"Its fine, I got over it long ago." She set the dog down gently on the bed. "Do you want to see something?" she looked up hopeful.

"Sure." Haruhi said and walked over to the bed while Yuki ran up to another bookshelf and lifted an old looking book out of place.

It was leather bound and when Yuki ran back to Haruhi she held it close to her chest.

"Only my closest friends know about this." She looked nervous. "You need to promise you won't laugh, or tell anyone." Haruhi was taken aback but promised none the less. "Okay." She said as she sat by Haruhi and opened up the book.

There were pictures of different people, some resembling Yuki, other didn't.

"Are these your relatives?" Haruhi asked as she flipped through the pictures.

Yuki nodded. "This is my grandmother on my mother's side." She pointed to a happy looking old woman. "I haven't seen her in years, but I still get a card on my birthday." Then she flipped the page again. "There's my mother when she was on pregnant with me." She pointed to a very pregnant woman. "Her name was Celine Belrose, she was the most beautiful woman." She got a dreamy look on her face. "I want to be just like her."

"Why would you keep this a secret, and why would you think I would laugh?" Haruhi asked while looking at more pictures, then she flipped the page to reveal a small, torn piece of paper, yellowed with age and the edges were torn. It had writing in French but Haruhi couldn't understand it.

"That's why." Yuki took back the book and looked at the small piece of paper. "'Que votre cœur soit nature, et dans les bonnes mains. Ma chère fille douce.'." she smiled warmly. "It means 'May your heart be kind, and in the right hands. My dear sweet daughter.'."

Haruhi smiled softly at Yuki's face. "What's wrong Yuki?" she repeated.

Yuki's face fell. "Only Tamaki knows about this, that's what I meant by closest friends." She ignored her

"Yuki…" Haruhi slid the book out of her hands and placed it carefully on the bed behind them. "Why have you been acting like this?"

She saw Yuki's eyes starting to tear up. "I can't…"

Haruhi placed an arm around Yuki's shoulders. "It's okay; you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Yuki sighed and leant into Haruhi's arms. "I was being selfish…"

Haruhi looked surprised for a second then she realized that selfishness probably made Yuki this upset, even if it was a little more than other people might react. "How were you being selfish?"

"Other people wanted to be friends with you guys." She looked, wide eyes filled with guilt. "And I just walked in and was suddenly friends with all of you, I didn't even think about the other people."

Haruhi couldn't make sense of what she was trying to say, and then it dawned on her. "You were bullied, weren't you?"

Yuki looked at the ground. "But they were right…"

"No they weren't," Haruhi said sternly, surprising Yuki. "Did you think about what we might want?" Yuki seemed to ponder it for a second. "Did you think maybe we wanted to be your friend and not theirs?"

Yuki listened carefully and wrapped her arms around Haruhi. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." They stayed there hugging for a moment longer. "But I think maybe you should apologize to Tamaki-sempai, he was worried."

Yuki's eyes went wide. "I didn't mean to worry him!" she exclaimed. "I wanted him to know that I'm fine by myself, he didn't have to be my friend if he didn't want to."

"But he is your friend; you've known each other since you were kids." Haruhi laughed slightly.

Yuki went silent as if she were thinking about something. "Oh yeah!" she put the leather book back into its place, and then she went to the bookshelf next to it and grabbed a picture. "Look." She showed it to Haruhi.

Haruhi laughed outright, it was a picture of two blonde kids, about five and six, playing in the snow. Haruhi recognized them immediately; the small blonde boy looked determined to build a small snowman and the blonde girl was laughing and building a snow-angel.

Both of their noses were red with cold, they were wearing big, puffy jackets that looked hard to move around in, the boy's hands were bare and red, trying to pack as much snow into the snowman, his mittens forgotten on the ground. The girl's face showed absolute joy and her mouth was open, giving a toothy laugh. Haruhi saw a tooth missing and her hair was just barely shoulder-length, Tamaki looked like he was trying to ignore her and focus and the task at hand.

"It didn't snow a whole lot…"

Haruhi smiled and gave the picture back. "I think you should go talk to him."

Yuki smiled back and nodded. She placed the picture back and ran to the door.

Meanwhile, the Host Club was sitting outside the door, wondering what the two girls might be talking about.

"They've been in there a long time…" Honey sighed. Mori grunted in agreement.

"Maybe they had a lot to talk about." Hikaru looked to Kaoru, worried at how silent he's been.

"I hope Haruhi can get through to her." Tamaki said, his face was clearly worried and he kept clinging to a very fed up Kyoya.

Just then, the door flung open and revealed a concerned Yuki. Kaoru looked relieved but something felt…wrong, he was angry at himself for thinking that when she opened the door she'd look at him, but she's not, she's looking at Tamaki.

She flung herself at him and they sat there hugging, crying like idiots.

"I'm sorry Tama-chan!" she cried.

"I'm sorry Yuki." He patted her blonde head.

Kaoru looked down at the ground; he didn't like this pang of jealousy he got. Wait…was that what he was feeling when Hiro was around…? He shook the thought away.

"What happened, Yuki-chan?" Honey looked at her.

"It's nothing, I'm fine now." She hugged the small boy (even though he is two years older than her). Haruhi came out of the room.

She sighed at the sight of the three blondes hugging; she wasn't sure why Honey was hugging too, but whatever.

Then Yuki stopped hugging them and looked over at the rest of the host Club, her eyes landing on the twins.

She jumped up and hugged both of them, she couldn't really understand it, but for some reason she felt she ought to. She rested her forehead on their shoulders.

"I'm sorry if I worried you." She whispered.

"We weren't worried." Hikaru huffed, but he patted her back none the less.

Kaoru smiled at his twin, he knew Hikaru was just too proud to say he was worried.

Yuki pulled her head back and looked them both in the eyes. Kaoru felt his heart start racing.

She smiled warmly. "Right..." she laughed. "You don't get worried." They couldn't tell whether she was being sarcastic or not, but either way, Hikaru and Kaoru both brought her into another hug.

They sat there on the ground, the others watching them with warm smiles. But something about Honey, Mori, and Kyoya's smiles were different, they had more of a knowing feeling to them.

* * *

 **So, I just want to say, I'm currently starting chapter 10 (11 if you count the prologue) so some of your ideas might be late, and you might have to wait a couple more chapters before you see them. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate them! I'm really happy that this is starting to get more reviews, so...**

 **Thanks to Wikked and SCARLETCOIN2012 for your reviews! I loved reading them so much and I hope you keep reviewing.**

 **I'm not sure about this chapter, so please tell me what you think because I think this story is starting to go downhill a bit. I'm not sure, so please tell me! I'd really appreciate it.**

 **Thank you for reading and don't forget to review! :)**


	8. A Christmas Special

A young girl stood at the entrance to Music Room 3#, a wrapped present in her trembling hands. She was nervous, even though she was sure he would get a lot of presents, she wanted hers to be special.

"Come on, Natsumi, just open the door." she said with a shaky voice. Her hand reached out but then she heard a loud crash and she jumped back, there was a commotion inside the room and the girl could just barely make out a couple of voices two were those twins, one was Kaga Yuki, the girl that, as rumors had it, was a childhood friend of Tamaki's and now his lover, and last but not least, the young girl's beloved.

Her heart raced as she heard her beloved yell something she could not understand. Footsteps came closer to the door but that was lost on her as she daydreamed about what the beautiful boy's face would look like when she hand delivered her present.

She sighed as she leaned against the door; she knew that Kaga Yuki had gotten pretty close to her beloved, so that must be stopped. And so, with fire in her eyes and her hands gripping the present tightly, she made up her mind to…deliver it later…

She sighed ay her cowardly ways, but she couldn't help but fear rejection. She didn't notice the door become unlatched, not until she went tumbling into the room, making all heads turn.

Kaga Yuki was next to the twins, and the person that they had been annoying was none other than her beloved Haruhi-kun! She took note of their shocked faces and realized her embarrassing entrance.

"I-I'm sorry!" she stood up and bowed. They stayed silent, hoping the young girl hadn't heard them call Haruhi a girl. "I-I just…" she fidgeted under their stares. "Wanted to give this to Haruhi-kun…" she closed her eyes and stretched her arm out with the present, secretly applauding herself for not running away instantly.

"How bold…" one of the twins commented, making her flinch.

"Must be a great present for you to want to know who gave It." the other twin said with a smirk to match his brother, but their smiles faltered when they were smacked on the head.

"Thank you, Natsumi-san." Haruhi smiled. "But I'm afraid I can't accept."

Natsumi's face fell, her heart had been aflutter when she saw Haruhi defend her to those cruel twins, but now she was crestfallen.

"I see." She held the present close. "I should have guessed you wouldn't like me…"

"It's not that, the Host Club's not accepting presents this year." Haruhi explained.

"Oh, may I ask why not?" Natsumi asked.

"How can we accept presents when we ourselves cannot give them?" Tamaki exclaimed. "It's simply not fair."

"It's against Host Club rules to give presents to individual customers." Kyoya elaborated. "You understand, don't you?"

"Ah, yes…" Natsumi knew that might be unfair to the customers if one were to give or receive a better gift than another. "I understand." She bowed respectfully. "Good day."

"Have a nice afternoon, I'm sorry again." Haruhi smiled sympathetically.

"It's fine." Natsumi smiled back but as soon as the doors shut she felt like crying from embarrassment. First to enter in such a way, then to realize it was all for not? She clutched the present close and proceeded walking down the empty halls.

* * *

The next day, Yuki and Haruhi were walking out of the school. Christmas was in a few days and Tamaki had declared that they would all spend it together, after many protests from Haruhi; they finally agreed to meet at her house.

"So, the Host Club isn't giving presents to customers, will I get presents?" Yuki asked.

"I'm sure you will, besides, you're not really a customer, right?" Haruhi asked.

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm not…" Yuki answered. "I wonder what Tamaki got me."

"Do you think he got you anything?" Haruhi asked.

"We always give each other Christmas presents."Yuki smiled warmly into her scarf. She hadn't bothered to wear her uniform, a little present to herself; she wouldn't wear her uniform all week.

So today she was wearing dark jeans and a blue long sleeve top, with an overly large, green jacket and a red scarf, her hair were in two low twin-tails, and a grey and gold beanie on her head with a pom-pom on the top, her shoes were her simple black flats.

"So it's a tradition for you two?" she asked.

"Yeah, we've never missed a year, even after he moved I came over and visited him Christmas week, of course we'd have to give our presents before Christmas because I would have to go back and spend it with my father."

This surprised Haruhi. "You spend Christmas with your dad?"

"Well, more like him and his friends, he hosts a Christmas party every year, I doubt he'll do that this year but I haven't heard." She looked down at her feet. "Did you buy presents?"

"Yeah…" she looked away, her presents might be considered 'commoner' presents and not to the Host Club's standards.

"I got you something, but I'm not saying." She said in a sing-song voice and grinned.

The two girls started laughing, unaware of a certain girl watching them.

Natsumi had been walking to her town car when she saw Kaga Yuki walking with her beloved. She couldn't help but follow them, she heard them talk about Christmas and Yuki's dad, but what really stuck with her were Yuki and Haruhi saying they bought each other presents.

Her mouth was agape and all she could do was silently ride home. Had the Host Club lied when they said they wouldn't accept presents? No, Ootori-Sempai wouldn't risk lying to a customer and losing their business, then maybe Yuki is such good friends with them, she's not considered a customer? Come to think of it, she's not at any table during Host Club hours, is she not really a customer, and is she just really good friends with them? There were a lot of rumors floating around about her; Natsumi wasn't sure which ones we true.

* * *

The next day, Christmas Eve's Eve, Natsumi was grumbling to herself, still upset about Haruhi and Yuki. She was looking at the ground and didn't notice someone in front of her until she bumped into them. She fell to the ground on her.

"Watch it!" she heard a man growl and she looked up, only to have her dark brown eyes be met with steely grey ones.

"S-Sorry!" she exclaimed, feeling a little intimidated. To her surprise, he extended a hand. "Uh…" she hesitated but took it anyway, he helped her up and started walking away. "S-Soga-san." She faltered when he turned around.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I've heard rumors that you're dating Kaga-san, is that true?" she noticed him freeze and a blush creep up to his cheeks.

"W-What?" he screeched, she had never expected to ever see Soga-San this flustered. "W-Who said t-that?" he stammered.

"I don't know, just some people, but is it true?"

"N-No!" he covered his face with his hand and averted his eyes. "Why do you want to know?"

"I was hoping she was dating someone else…"

"'Else'?" Hiro thought maybe she was one of the twin's fan-girls.

"If she were dating you, I wouldn't feel threatened as much when she's with Haruhi-kun." Natsumi looked down in embarrassment.

"Haruhi-kun…?" He tilted his head slightly. "Are they dating?" He hadn't been worried about Haruhi; they just seemed like good friends, so he decided this girl must be a fan-girl because they're always making ridiculous assumptions.

"I'm not sure." She put her hand to her chin and looked deep in thought. "But they seemed all buddy-buddy when I saw them yesterday."

"Well, they are friends-" she interrupted him.

"I must make my place known, she must be defeated." She grinned evilly and ran off, but then she turned around. "Thank you, S oga-san!" she waved.

"No…problem…" he waved awkwardly as he watched her rush off; he hoped Yuki wasn't in too much trouble.

Natsumi ran to her class, but bumped into another person.

"What is it with bumping into people today?" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry, Sempai." She stood up and bowed at the pair of girls in front of her.

"Look where you're going next time." The dark-skinned beauty scoffed.

"Let's go, Farah!" a girl with brown hair tugged at the girl named Farah's arm. "We'll be late!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Farah allowed herself to be dragged as the third years ran into their classroom.

"Hmm…?" Natsumi had a blank expression that soon turned into one of horror; she was late to her next class. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" she ran as fast as she could.

She burst into the classroom, all heads turning to her. "Nice of you to join us…" the teacher gritted out.

"Sorry…" She looked over and saw the twins and Yuki looking at her, she blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

The class went on for what seemed like forever, all the while Natsumi was glaring daggers at Yuki.

Yuki had felt it and turned around to see Natsumi looking out the window, so she looked back to the front of the class as Natsumi turned back to glare at her again, this went on for the rest of the class. By the end, Yuki felt bad for some reason, maybe because she felt like someone was mad at her.

"Yuki, are we going to meet up with Haruhi?" one of the twins asked.

"Mm!" she nodded happily and they walked off.

Natsumi had watched this little interaction because she head Haruhi's name, but when she saw one twin say something and the other stay behind them with a warm smile, her eyes widened. She ran up and stopped one of the twins.

"Oh, you're that girl that likes Haruhi." The twin said tactlessly.

"Y-Yeah…" Natsumi gave a humorless smile. "Is Kaga-san dating your twin?"

The twin looked slightly sad for a second. "No, why do you ask?" he paused. "Oh, you think her and Haruhi are an item…" the twin started laughing. "You have nothing to worry about there."

"Really?" Natsumi asked uncertainly. "But, they aren't dating…?" she pointed at the two ahead of them.

"N-No…" the twin in front of her said. "The next class is starting, I have to go. See ya!" he waved and rushed off.

She stood in surprise; he had certainly left in a hurry. So Yuki wasn't dating anyone, but why is she such good friends with Natsumi's beloved?

* * *

Christmas Eve, Yuki was walking down the pavement; Tamaki had chosen her outfit today. She was wearing something way more girly than she normally would wear.

She was wearing a soft pink skirt, a loose, grey sweater over a white blouse, and white stockings that went mid-calf with black shoes. She might be okay with it if it wasn't for the skirt, she didn't wear pink a whole lot, but she's just glad Tamaki didn't match it with purple too. Tamaki had also put a black headband in her hair, keeping a lot of her blonde locks out of her face, but some still escaped.

She had gotten Honey, Mori, Tamaki, and Kyoya all a present, but she still had yet to give one to the twins, Haruhi, or Hiro. She had decided to get Hiro one because she felt they had become friends. She smiled at the thought of having so many friends that she can stress about getting presents for them.

She had plenty of pocket money, her father had sent her quite a bit in a Christmas card, of course it might have been signed by his secretary, but Yuki was happy that he thought of her, nonetheless. So she had decided to go window Christmas shopping, and after telling Tamaki that he can't go because she was getting his present, and having to deal with his whining that she can't go by herself, she agreed to meet Kyoya there.

"There you are." Kyoya put his phone back in his pocket when he saw her. "Don't you think this is a little late for shopping?"

"I know," she smiled. "I always do it at the last minute." She laughed airily and started walking, Kyoya trailing behind her.

"How many presents do you have to get?" he looked in the windows of the shops.

"Just four, but I want them to be special." She smiled warmly at a toy shop. "Let's go there."

"And what, may I ask, will we find there?"

"Haruhi might like something there!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him across the street. She stopped at everything she saw, dragging Kyoya around the town.

"Just the twins and Hiro left, right?" she asked.

"I believe so…" he kept checking his phone.

"Sorry," she smiled at him. "I've been dragging you around."

He looked up from his phone and sighed. "No, not at all." He put his phone in his pocket again.

"Did you have plans?" she asked sadly. "I know Tamaki can be a little…pushy when it comes to you."

"I didn't have plans." he looked into one shop.

After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "What do you think I should get the twins?"

He looked around the small shop. "Here," He picked up matching key chains for your phone.

Something about getting them the same thing didn't feel right. "No…" she looked around. Kyoya knew what she was feeling and smiled knowingly, she could tell the twins were two separate people. "What about…this?" she picked up a small, plush penguin. "It looks so sad, all by itself…" she looked at it. "I should give it to Hikaru."

"…He'd like that." Kyoya smirked.

"And this," she picked up an orange dog. "It looks like Kaoru."

"They're identical twins, by that logic it would look like Hikaru too." He chuckled quietly.

"No, this looks like Kaoru." She smiled at him. "It's the eyes." She held him up.

"I don't see anything…" Kyoya shook his head.

"They're mischievous, but they're also a little bit sad…" she held the dog close. Kyoya looked at her with wide eyes, when did she become such good friends with the twins? "Hiro's next." She said, matter-of-factly.

She walked over to a shelf filled with candy, her eyes danced over each bag. "I love these." She said with sparkling eyes as she held a bag with peanut butter cups, tied with a green ribbon that matched her eyes. "Should I get these for him?" she looked at Kyoya. "Is it weird to give someone sweets for Christmas?"

"No, I believe it means you care deeply for that person."

"Then I'll get them." she smiled as Kyoya looked at her, he apparently had missed a lot when it came to her, she had become friends with not only the twins and Haruhi, but also her classmates. From what he remembered in middle school, she was very closed off, only letting him in because he was a friend of Tamaki's. He often wondered what Tamaki and Yuki's first encounter was like, of course they must have only been toddlers at the time, but it must have been interesting.

"That's it then," she sighed contently. "Thank you for coming, Kyo-chan." She jumped up and hugged him before he could do anything.

He was surprised by this, so just patted her head. "Anytime." They separated and he shot her a look that meant 'not anytime'.

She laughed and waved as they went their separate ways. She was smiling the whole way home, with the bag of presents in her hand.

* * *

It was Christmas, which meant no school, since they hadn't had Christmas break for the week, they get it on Christmas.

"Why did we have to buy presents?" Hikaru asked his twin as they sat in their town car, being driven to Haruhi's.

"Everyone else is." Kaoru looked at the small gift in his hand, it was Yuki's and they had forgotten to put a nametag on it, so they had to keep it separate from the others. "Besides, this means we'll get presents too."

"We got some earlier; I doubt anything Haruhi could get us will be that cool…" Hikaru looked out the window. "She is a commoner after all."

Kaoru smiled at his twin, he knew Hikaru was looking forward to receiving a present from Haruhi. "I wonder what they got us."

"How much you want to bet Yuki got us a toy?" Hikaru grinned.

"That sounds like her." Kaoru smiled, they both started laughing and guessing what the others got them.

When they got there, they were the last ones.

"They're here, we can start now!" Honey called.

"Finally." Haruhi grumbled.

"I thought we agreed we'd meet at 10:00…?" Tamaki said.

"Sorry we're late." Hikaru said insincerely.

"It's 11:30…" Haruhi glared at him.

Both twins shrugged carelessly. Kaoru's eyes were drawn to a certain blonde girl, she was wearing a cute red ribbon on the top of her hair, a red, hooded dress with white fur trim and two pom-poms hanging from the hood, and black, shiny, lace-up boots, she looked like a cute Mrs. Clause. Kaoru smiled when he saw her.

"You made it!" she ran up to them with a smile.

"So what'd you get us?" Hikaru slung an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm not telling." She winked mischievously.

"What's with the get up?" Kaoru asked.

"Tamaki," she shot the other blonde a dirty look. "I agreed to let him pick my outfit for Christmas and Christmas Eve, I regret it though."

"Why would you do that?" Hikaru asked with a smirk.

"It was part of his present." She sighed. "Speaking of presents…" she gave Haruhi and Tamaki puppy dog eyes. "Can we open them now?"

"Yeah, sure, knock yourselves out." Haruhi said in an uncaring manner.

"What did you get me, Haruhi?" Tamaki asked hopefully.

"Just open the presents." She sighed.

Yuki dove into the small pile of presents and grabbed the seven with her name on them. "This one is from Honey-Sempai." She read the nametag. She opened it and saw a slice of chocolate cake with a strawberry on top. "My favorite!" she smiled widely at the small boy, they hugged and she gave him and Mori their gifts.

"A blanket?" Honey looked at the blue, hand-knit blanket with little pink bunnies on it.

"I made it myself." She smiled nervously. "Do you like it, I'm not very good."

"It's beautiful, I didn't know you knit!" Honey smiled. Mori pulled a dark blue scarf.

"I made that too, I wasn't sure what to get you, sorry…" she smiled at the giant, he looked between her and the scarf before petting her head as a sign that he liked her gift, causing her to smile.

"What's this?" Hikaru held up the penguin, he had gotten dove after at the same time as Yuki.

"Sorry, I just wanted to buy it because it looked so lonely." She looked away.

"It's…cute." He gave her a half hug and a reassuring smile. He didn't want to show it, but he really thought the penguin was cute. When he looked over to Kaoru opening his present, he let out a chuckled when he saw the orange dog.

"It looks like you." Yuki said immediately.

"So it's me and Hikaru's?" Kaoru asked, not understanding, but he felt a little guilty when Yuki let out an irritated sigh.

"No, it looks like you, not Hikaru." She saw their confused faces. "You don't really look alike if you look closer." This shocked the twins, but they still held confused faces. "Your eyes." She further explained.

"Our eyes are the same color." Hikaru said.

"Not the color…never mind." She sighed. "Anyways, I hope you like it."

The two remained silent for a moment before Kaoru broke it. "I do like it." he said softly. "Here, they're from me and Hikaru."

She looked at the gifts in his hands and slowly took them. She carefully unwrapped them, both twins noticed this. "What are you doing?" Hikaru asked.

"I'm waiting for the surprise…' she said without looking up.

"You think we'd booby-trap them?" Kaoru tried to look offended, but when Yuki looked up at him with an unwavering face, he knew that might have been something they'd do.

She finally opened them and in one box was a silver colored hairpin and a matching comb, the other had cans of silly string. "Hikaru," she held up the silly string. "This one's from you isn't it?" she saw his cheeky grin and couldn't help herself; she sprayed him with it and watched him flop onto the ground. "Thanks," she looked at the can with satisfaction. "And thank you Kaoru," she picked up the hairpin and put it in her hair. "It's beautiful." He looked away with a blush, but she didn't notice.

"Here, Haruhi, look at mine!" Tamaki pushed a cute little jewelry box towards the brunette.

She sighed and undid the ribbon around it. As soon as she opened it she gasped. "I can't accept this!"

"Why not?" he whined.

"Let me see!" Yuki yelled and she and the twin scrambled towards them to see the diamond teardrop earrings.

"Oh…" Yuki looked at it. "They'd suit you." She sighed in disappointment and went back to her spot, followed by the twins.

"That's right; this kind of thing isn't uncommon for you." Haruhi took the earring out and put them in her ears. "They are pretty…" she seemed to be fighting an inner battle on keeping them or not. "It'd be nice to have something like this, just in case…" she seemed to lose the battle and decided to keep them. "Thank you Sempai, but now I kind of feel my gifts aren't very good…"

As if on cue, everyone opened her gift to them.

"Charles Dickens?" Yuki looked at her book.

"You seemed to like books when I saw your room…" she said nervously.

"Thank you Haru-chan!" she exclaimed with a smile. "I didn't have this one." This made Haruhi feel a little better.

Honey pulled out a small hat that was supposed to go on Usa-chan, Mori got a novelty T-shirt, Hikaru and Kaoru got sidewalk chalk, Kyoya got a few fountain pens that to Haruhi were pretty nice, and Tamaki got plastic crown.

"You're always calling yourself 'king' so you should have a crown, right?" she said defensively, feeling bad that he got her such a nice gift while she got him such a crappy one.

Tamaki blushed slightly. "I love it." he smiled and put it on his head with a dreamy look, making Yuki giggle. "And what'd you get me?" he asked Yuki. "Because I'm sure what I got you is better." He said proudly.

"Dream on, Blondie." She grinned. Everyone stopped talking and looked at the two friends.

"Last year you beat me, but this year, I'm not going to lose." He said smugly.

"I'm on a streak, Tama-chan." She smirked. "It's not breaking this year."

They stared each other down before harshly ripping off the wrapping on each other's present.

Yuki held up a picture frame of her and Tamaki when they were little, and her tears started welling up when she saw who had his arm around them, it was an older boy that she had seen as an older brother most her life, the son of a man who worked in her house, James. "Damn it, Tama-chan." She wiped at her eyes. "You found a picture of him." He looked with a sad smile at her.

"I did, it was pretty hard to do, but I managed." He looked down at her present to him and gasped. "H-How did you find this?" he asked as he looked at the child's drawing, carefully wrapped in tissue paper.

"It was probably as hard as it was for you to find this." She laughed, but only for a second before they burst into tears and started hugging. "You win, Mon Ami!"

"It's a tie!" he cried and held her tighter.

"I'll get you next year." She pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"Then until then." he extended his hand.

She shook it with a smile. Everyone else was sitting as far away from them as possible, they had never seen them like this, especially with how intense it had just gotten.

"Oh, I still have two more," Yuki looked down. "I didn't open Mori-sempai's or Kyo-chan's." she reached down and undid the ribbon to Mori's.

"I helped pick it out!" Honey said proudly.

Yuki smiled at him and opened the box to reveal a turquoise bracelet; she slipped it on and smiled up at Mori. "I love it, Mori-sempai." She stood up and reached out to him, causing him to bend down and allow her to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug.

"Don't I get a hug?" Hikaru asked as he found more silly string in his hair.

"Later, later." She waved him off. "Kyo-chan's next." She opened the rather large present.

"I found it when we were shopping yesterday; you had gone off to look for Hiro's gift so I took the opportunity." Kyoya explained as she pulled out a drawing kit, complete with a sketch pad and different charcoals.

"Thank you, Kyo-chan." She smiled warmly. "I needed more art supplies."

"You're welcome." He said simply. Neither noticed Kaoru's seething when Kyoya mentioned Yuki buying Hiro a gift.

"Here, Haru-chan!" Yuki handed Haruhi a gift. "It's from me."

"Thanks." She said slowly and opened it. "A miniature gumball machine?"

"Isn't it amazing?" she said. "It's so adorable, you can fill it with gum and carry it around in your bag, then whenever you need gum you just turn this and you get it!" she said excitedly.

"It's great." Haruhi said at the excited, green-eyed girl.

The day went by just like that, and before they knew it, it was time to go.

"Merry Christmas!" Yuki waved at them as she got into her town car.

"Why aren't you going with her, Sempai?" Haruhi asked Tamaki as she waved at Yuki.

"She said something about giving her present to Hiro." He said simply, and failed to notice one of the twins freeze.

* * *

"T-Thanks…" Hiro said as he looked at the candy. "I got you something too." He reached into his bag and pulled out an old, wooden music box.

Yuki opened the lid and a carved out bird that looked like it was about to take flight started circling the platform as the box played Fur Elise.

"It's beautiful." She smiled softly and listened to the song.

"You like it?" he smiled.

She nodded. "I love it." he blushed slightly and looked down at the bag of candy, a part of him wished she had gotten him something imperishable so he could keep it as long as he wanted, but on the other hand, he really like peanut butter cups. Then he pulled the ribbon loose and the bag opened by itself, he took one and popped it in his mouth. Then it occurred to him that the ribbon was imperishable, he could just keep that. He smiled slightly and put the ribbon in his pocket.

"Were you at a Christmas party?" he asked, looking at her red dress.

"With the Host Club." She said and he nodded.

"What's your loot?" he asked, she made a look of confusion. "What'd you get?" he elaborated.

She showed him the art supplies, the book, the silly string, the bracelet, the picture, and told him about the cake she had eaten while still at Haruhi's, but when she said what Kaoru got her, she saw a slight change in Hiro's face, she couldn't tell what it was though so she left it alone.

"What about you?" she asked.

"My parents gave me some money and a card, Kazu-chan gave me a watch, and we ran into Kurakano, she gave me a hat…pretty uneventful year." He shrugged.

"Well, I hope it gets better." She smiled as she started to leave.

"I think it just did…" he mumbled at he watched her walk away.

* * *

"Cheer up, Natsumi-chan, there's always next year." One of her friends tried to comfort her.

"Yeah, I guess so…" she said without lifting her head from the desk, Christmas had come and gone and she wasn't able to give her present to Haruhi. She sighed. "But I doubt the Host Club's going to accept presents next year either."

"He accepted!" they heard a girl squeal.

"I can't believe it!" another girl said.

"Who accepted what?" Natsumi's friend asked.

"Hikaru-sama, he accepted my gift, they're doing it now since it's after Christmas." The girl responded, inadvertently causing Natsumi to let out a groan.

"But you can give your present now." The friends attempted to comfort her again.

"I'd look needy, I already tried to give it before." She whined.

"What about Valentine's Day?"

Natsumi's head shot up. "Yes, Valentine's Day, I will not lose!" she grinned evilly.

"Settle down, Natsumi-chan," the friend laughed. "That's not for a few more months."

"I'll wait, and hone my culinary skills, I'll make the best chocolate my dear beloved has ever tried!" she exclaimed. "He'll love me then!" she plopped back down in her seat. "He will." She said with a dreamy look.

"Oh, Natsumi…" the friend chuckled quietly.

* * *

 **I know, a _super_ long chapter, I just felt a fluffy (I wish there was more fluff) , non-relevant, Christmas Special was necessary. I tried to get everyone that I've introduced so far into this chapter and I think I've succeeded. How did you like the gift-exchange? I thought hard about what each gift is (I'm not best at gifts, I had to steal an idea from what I'm giving my brother for Christmas, it's kinda weird too, considering what he's like).**

 **Thanks to SCARLETCOIN2012 and Wikked for your awesome reviews!**

 **I'm not sure why I chose to sit in front of my computer and write this out instead of going out and getting the gifts for the people I have yet to buy gifts for, Christmas is coming up and I'm pretty broke...so...yeah.**

 **Virtual gifts and candies to all who made it through this _loooooooooong_ chapter and also those who bother reading the author's note! Congratz!**

 **Any questions? Please ask away! I'll be happy to answer them for you.**

 **Also, on a side note, Natsumi will only be present in Specials, I'll probably make one for Valentine's Day *wink wink***

 **Thank you Viewer Lovelies! (Ohh, not sure about that name for ya'll...)**


	9. Chapter 7: The Ball I

"A ball?" the twins asked simultaneously.

"Yes, a masquerade" Tamaki looked proudly at the rest of the Host Club (and Yuki). "To celebrate Yuki feeling better."

Yuki blushed. "Don't do that."

"Why not?" Tamaki said with puppy eyes.

"You can have a ball, but not to celebrate anything about me." She eyed him."Are we clear?"

"Then to celebrate Haruhi!" Tamaki cheered and Yuki joined him.

Haruhi sighed in the corner she sat in; she had been studying, trying to ignore the noisy bunch.

"When is it?" Honey asked.

"One week from now." Tamaki held up one finger. "It's a formal event, naturally. Kyoya will fill you in on the details."

"Obviously, the members of the Host Club aren't allowed to bring a date, however the guests are encouraged to." He stood up and put a hand in his pocket. "It is open invitation; I'll spread the word around the school about the date and time."

"So, is it mandatory for me?" Yuki asked.

They all looked at her. "Oh yeah, you're not a Host club Member." Hikaru said.

"No it's not mandatory for non-members." Kyoya explained.

"But you're still going, right Yuki?" Tamaki asked.

"Sure." She smiled.

"Are you going to bring a date?" Honey asked excitedly.

"I'm not sure." She said lightly. "Maybe if someone asks me, but it's not really important, right?"

Kaoru, for some reason, thought of Hiro at that moment. If there was going to be a ball, wouldn't Hiro ask Yuki?

* * *

The days flew by; everyone could only talk about the upcoming masquerade ball. Most girls had gotten dates; others were going without dates in hopes that they may attract the Host Club.

Yuki was walking down the halls to meet the Twins and Haruhi at the library, they were going to study as much as they could but she knew the Twins would slack off and Haruhi would be the only one studying.

"Yuki," a familiar voice came from behind her, she turned around to see Hiro running towards her.

"Hello, Hiro." She smiled. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing much, you?" he shrugged casually.

"I'm going to the library, want to come?" she asked.

"Ah no, I have to meet up with Kazu-chan, but I have a question." He started nervously, and then he relaxed a bit when he saw her eyes telling him to go on. "Would you like to go to the ball with me?" he said slowly.

He wanted something along the lines of "I thought you'd never ask!" and half-expected her to say, "No way!" with maybe a laugh in his face or something.

"Me?" she said, he scratched the back of his neck and waited for the laugh. "You want me to go with you?" he nodded and looked down, not wanting to see her face. "Of course!" and there was the laugh, but it wasn't like she was laughing at him, it was more of her laughing happily because he asked her.

He raised his head and saw her face, her cheeks were slightly red and her eyes were sparkling with happiness.

"Really?" he asked, unsure of her answer.

"Really," she assured him. "I'll go to the ball with you."

He laughed, relieved. "Okay, when should I pick you up?"

She thought about it. "I'm driving with Tamaki, so I'll meet you here."

He nodded slowly, then his brows furrowed in confusion. "Wait, why are you driving with Tamaki?"

"Cause he's going, and I live with him, so it makes sense we don't take separate cars." She shrugged like it was obvious. "I'll see you then!" she waved and jogged over to the library doors.

He stared at where she had gone; processing what she had told him. She never said she lived with Tamaki, they aren't related, are they? Is Kaoru the only one he should be worried about?

Yuki skipped happily over to the table she saw the twins and Haruhi at.

"Why are you so happy?" Hikaru asked angrily, clearly he was just scolded by Haruhi.

"I've got a date to the ball." She grinned, missing the glance Hikaru did towards Kaoru, who was grinding his teeth.

"Who is it?" Hikaru asked slowly, keeping his twin in mind.

"Hiro." She said simply and looked down at the book in front of her, again missing Hikaru's glance and Kaoru's hands balling into a fist until their knuckles were white.

"When did he ask you?" Haruhi smiled at Yuki's obvious happiness.

"Just now." She looked over a Kaoru, who hadn't said a word and refused to look up. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yep." He looked up at her. "Just can't seem to get the answer right…so frustrating." He looked away.

"Ah, I've been there." She sighed. "Let me see." She looked at the pages of his book. "What is this?" she pointed to a doodle in the corner.

"I got bored." He said and snatched the book away from a grinning Yuki.

"So you drew a dinosaur attacking Tokyo?" she sniggered.

"I…yes." He said. "What's wrong with that?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing…" she waved him off and started reading.

Haruhi and Hikaru shared a look and went back to reading, well Haruhi did, Hikaru just laid back and started daydreaming.

He thought about Kaoru standing up at an alter, Hikaru was right next to him, Tamaki next to Hikaru and Kyoya next to him, all wearing tuxedos. On the other side, was Haruhi, but her hair was longer, touching her shoulders, then next to her were some girls that his mind just sort of made up, they were all wearing purple, knee-length dresses.

Music started playing and everyone in the audience stood, Honey marched down the aisle with Mori, Honey places flowers on the ground and Mori holding the rings.

Then Tamaki started crying and Kaoru looked really nervous, but they all went silent when a certain blonde girl walked down the aisle, the man Hikaru recognized to be her father walking beside her. She was beautiful, in every sense of the word, her white veil covered her face but it was see through enough so they saw her nervous smile. Her white dress flowed beneath her and she had a bouquet of red roses.

Hikaru could see his mother and father in the rows of chairs, crying their eyes out. Yuki's father let go of her arm and whispered something in her ear that made her smile. She walked over to Kaoru and took his extended arm.

They said their vows and more people cried, Hikaru even saw Haruhi tearing up. And right as the couple was about to kiss…Hikaru jerked awake.

"You fell asleep!" Haruhi said angrily.

"I did?" Hikaru looked around and saw he was still in the library, Yuki and Kaoru were talking about something but it seemed more of a heated debate. "What did I miss?" he yawned.

"I was about to leave, you better get your brother away from Yuki for now." She sighed, irritated.

"Why?" he smirked and saw the two arguing.

"They were talking about what she should wear to the ball, Kaoru said she had no fashion sense and it turned into a full on war."

Hikaru smiled and dragged his twin out the door.

"This isn't over!" Yuki growled.

"Not for a second!" Kaoru growled back. "What were you dreaming?" Kaoru suddenly asked Hikaru.

He froze, remembering the dream about his twin's wedding. "Nothing." He smiled softly and kept walking. If Kaoru likes Yuki, he should figure it out on his own…but that doesn't mean he can't have a little help.

Kaoru gave Hikaru a sidelong glance and put his hands behind his head while Hikaru smiled and put his hands in his pockets. Kaoru knew his twin was hiding something, but he didn't feel like prying.

* * *

Today was the day of the ball, and Yuki sat face down on her bed.

"Yuki?" Tamaki knocked softly on the door. "Watcha doing?"

"Mon Ami!" she threw open the door and launched herself in his arms.

"What's wrong?" he petted her hair.

"I don't have anything to wear, Kaoru was right!" she pouted. "I have no fashion sense."

"Let me see." He walked in and she ran into the large bathroom. She came out shortly after wearing a French styled dress.

It was blue and black mostly, with an off the shoulder v-neck dress with black Toole over a deep blue silk skirt, a tight bodice with the same color blue brocade design over a black background. Her black gloves went just below her elbows, and she had on a black choker with black bead handing off a black rose. Her blonde hair had the freshly dyed red streak in it and in a loose bun on the top of her head, two strands framing her face. Diamond teardrop earrings dangled from her ears and she held a black and blue clutch purse, her makeup was light with pink tinted lip gloss, just a bit of blush and black eyeliner framing her eyes, and with the mascara made her eyes look huge.

"Que tu es belle!" Tamaki exclaimed. "You're beautiful, Yuki!"

She blushed slightly at the praise. "Thanks…"

"Where'd you get the dress?" he asked.

"It's from France." She looked down at the dress. "Are you sure it's alright?"

"Of course. It's almost time to leave though." he looked at his watch.

"Oh!" she raced over to the nightstand next to her bed and grabbed something out of it.

"What's that?" he questioned.

"Nothing, I have to give it to Haruhi before tomorrow though." she tucked it away in her purse.

They started to walk out of the house, only to be stopped by Shima.

"And where are you going?" she asked, eyeing them.

"To the ball, Shima, I told you." Tamaki started pass her but she grabbed the back of his collar.

Yuki giggled, but stopped when Shima grabbed her wrist and dragged them to the phone.

"What are we doing here?" Yuki asked.

"Your fathers told you to call before you left." She said before walking away with a straight back and her head held high.

"Our fathers?" Tamaki looked at the phone.

"Why would they want to talk to us?" Yuki said as she slowly started to the phone. "I've got a bad feeling about this…" she swallowed.

She saw Tamaki start to sweat as he reached to the phone. "Maybe they want to say 'have a good evening'?" he said hopefully.

"I doubt that…" she gasped when Tamaki brought the phone up to his ear. "It's a trap!"

Tamaki looked down fearfully at her and started to dial. "Hello?" he said shakily, and then he held the phone away as his father started yelling.

Yuki squealed and ran to the other side of the room. "Every man for himself, Mon Ami!" she gave him an apologetic smile.

He glared at her and slowly put the phone back to his ear. "Yes…" he said. "I will…I understand…yes sir…thank you…goodbye." He hung up and looked back at Yuki with relief in his eyes. "It's fine!" he grinned. "He just wanted me to make sure you have fun."

She sighed in matching relief but then gulped when she realized it was her turn. Her father never calls her, let alone for no reason. She slowly made her way to the phone and Tamaki gave her a reassuring pat.

"Hello?" she said once she heard someone pick up. "Yes sir…" she didn't say much else, but instead listened to her father. "But-" she was interrupted. "No, I understand…Thank you." She hung up.

Tamaki watched her hand grip the receiver tightly. "Yuki, are you alright?" he couldn't see her face.

She slowly turned to him and smiled. "It's fine!" she parroted Tamaki.

"Really?" he asked in disbelief.

She nodded. "Now we're going to be late."

They rushed out to the limo and drove off.

When they got there, Yuki went to find Hiro and Tamaki went with the rest of the Host Club

"Hey, Tono," Hikaru waved him over. "Where's Yuki?"

"She went to find Hiro…wait," he thought about it.

"What?" Kaoru asked him.

"Shouldn't I meet her date?" he put a finger to his chin. "Isn't that what older brothers do?" he asked the twins.

"Well, I thought it was a father thing," Hikaru started.

"Plus you're not her older brother." Kaoru finished.

"You've met Hiro before." Kyoya interrupted.

"I have?" Tamaki looked behind the curtain and saw Yuki talking to an auburn haired boy. "It's funny, I don't remember."

"That's 'cause he's so plain looking." Kaoru shrugged. Hikaru glanced at him, he was being a little harsher than normal, but only Hikaru had noticed it.

"Faces like his sort of blend with the rest." Hikaru backed up his twin, playing along with whatever Kaoru was doing.

"That's rude, I've met him and he's not that bad." Haruhi pointed out. "And Sempai, I think you'll just embarrass her."

Tamaki shrunk back into his corner of woe. "I've never embarrassed her before…" he mumbled.

"I'm sure that's not true, considering you're you…" Haruhi said innocently, but caused his face to twist into a frown.

Tamaki thought back to when they were in France, maybe he never embarrassed her because they always just stayed at his house…

* * *

"Tamaki!" a small blonde girl skipped towards the other blonde. "Tamaki, I drew a picture for you and your mom!"

Tamaki looked at the crudely drawn picture. "Is this me?" he asked incredulously.

"Mm." she nodded happily.

"It looks…" he trailed off, not wanting to hurt the five year old girl's feelings. "Great." He put on a fake grin, luckily she bought it. He should flatter people for a living.

"I'm going to go show it to Anne-Sophie." She ran into the house.

"Ah, wait!" he called after her. "You have to be quiet, she's not feeling well."

She nodded seriously and cracked open the door. "Anne-Sophie?" she whispered.

"Adelaide?" she said weakly. "Come closer."

Yuki giggled softly. "I told you, Anne-Sophie, call me Yuki."

"I refuse." She said with a mock-stern face. "Adelaide sounds much better." Yuki giggled again.

"But your husband loves Japanese thing, right?" she asked, Anne-Sophie nodded weakly. "Then why do you think my French name sounds better than my Japanese one?"

"I just think it does…" she whispered tiredly.

"I'll leave…" she stepped away from the bed. "You seem tired."

"Oh no, Adelaide, I'm fine." She smiled.

Yuki shook her head vigorously. "No, you go to sleep, so you can play with me tomorrow!" she smiled and went to pull the blankets up.

"Alright." Anne-Sophie laughed softly. "What's that." She gestured to the paper in Yuki's hand.

"Oh that's right!" she held it up. "It's me, Tamaki, and you!"

"It's beautiful, you should be an artist." That made Yuki beam.

"Maybe I will someday!" she laughed happily and started to the door. "Feel better, Anne-Sophie!"

Anne-Sophie smiled at her son who smiled back and closed the door slowly.

"You're going to be an artist?" Tamaki sighed. "This is France; you'll have a lot of competition."

"I'll just have to be the best there is than!" she raced down the halls and Tamaki followed.

* * *

Tamaki still sat in his corner of woe, knees clutched to his chest, facing the wall, but his frown was replaced with a nostalgic smile. His mother's offhand comment about Yuki being an artist had been the spark to light the flame of Yuki's aspiration. She had taken art classes and kept working at it until Tamaki had to be impressed by her paintings.

"Sempai?" Haruhi broke through his thoughts. "The curtains rising in five minutes." She said.

"Right…" he stood up and smiled at the Host club. "Smile!"

* * *

 **I just can't leave this story alone, can I? I guess a big reason I updated so soon is because I have a question that I hope ya'll can answer.**

 **I had written out a chapter where Hiro asks Yuki out on a date, I hadn't written anymore because I was starting to doubt whether I should have them actually date. I thought maybe it could be an innocent little crush on Hiro's side instead of them dating and breaking up eventually (I'm not good with writing break ups, not because they're too emotional for me or anything, but because I've never had a boyfriend so I've never broken up either). I know they should definitely get closer but dating might be a little much, what do you think? Please tell me!**

 **I guess a lot of you guys liked the Christmas special so I hope this chapter doesn't make you a little disappointed. I got kinda bored when I was writing this and threw in the wedding dream just for kicks, I know it kinda sucks but I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it.**

 **Special thanks to: SCARLETCOIN2012, Writer Of This Story, Kwicis and fairytailcats for their amazing reviews! They really made me happy, thanks guys!**

 **Don't forget to review and tell me what you think, and if you find any typos or have an idea of a chapter you want me to do, don't hesitate to tell me! :)**

 **On a side note, how did you like the dress? I felt like I didn't do a good job describing it, I had found a dress I really liked and thought Yuki would look nice in it, Sadly I couldn't put the url in here so I tried my best in describing it myself. Have a great remaining Christmas break (if you have any remaining, I don't know) and please, please, please review!**


	10. Chapter 8: The Ball II

Yuki had found Hiro after Tamaki left, since she isn't a member she had to stay in front of the curtain that was hiding the Host Club.

"You look great…" Hiro complemented nervously.

"Thank you." She smiled warmly. "You look very handsome." She nodded.

"Thanks…" he rubbed the back of his neck as an awkward silence fell over them. "Umm, so…lot of people turned up, huh?"

"I guess that's how it usually is when they host." She shrugged.

"Ah," he looked around. "Want to dance?" he extended an arm.

"I'd love to." She took it and followed him onto the dance floor, she had learned how to Waltz back in France, so she was glad she didn't step on his toes.

They didn't see the couple of head poke out from behind the curtain. Tamaki watched with Kaoru as Yuki went to the dance floor.

"My little girl's growing up!" Tamaki cried.

"That looks like fun." Kaoru said longingly.

"You'll dance later Kaoru." Haruhi, completely unaware of the reason Kaoru was upset, tried to comfort him.

"Yeah… I know." He sighed and took one more glance at the smiling Yuki. His chest was getting that feeling again; it always seems to happen when she's around Hiro. Why won't that guy just leave her alone? I mean, he get's that Yuki's probably one of the most beautiful girl's in school…No. No, he won't think like that…but…

"Kaoru, come on!" Hikaru pulled him out of his thoughts. "The curtain's rising."

Kaoru jumped up and slipped on his mask, it was identical to Hikaru's. "I'm coming."

* * *

Yuki heard some laughing and looked over and saw Farah and Hilda, as soon as they saw her they glared and looked away. Yuki looked back to Hiro, trying not to let it get to her.

There was a set time when you are supposed to put on your masks; it was right before the curtain was raised. The music stopped suddenly and everyone knew that meant to put on your masks.

Yuki slipped on her blue and black mask that went to the bride of her nose, she saw Hiro pull out a solid white on that covered most of his face.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a surprise for you!" Honey's voice rang out as the red curtain rose. "You'll have to find us to get it!" then the curtain was raised the rest of the way, revealing a very empty stage.

There were some gasps and some laughter at the intriguing new game. Yuki looked around since she felt someone watching her but no one was there.

Then, the minute she turned back to the stage, someone grabbed her and took off running.

"Let go!" she shouted, but the large man kept running to a room down the corridor.

She was set down after they entered the brightly light room, and the first thing she noticed was the large man was none other than Mori.

"Yuki!" Tamaki exclaimed. "So how many is that?" He looked to Kyoya.

"Seven, we have enough." Kyoya said.

Yuki looked around to see six other girls with confused but excited faces.

"Now, ladies, would you like to be part of the game?" Tamaki asked sweetly.

They all practically screamed "Yes!" and it hurt Yuki's ears.

"What's the game?" Yuki asked.

"I'm glad you asked, Yuki," he grinned proudly. "We blend in with the crowd, no one can find us."

"Then we pick seven girls to play along and dance with us." Hikaru said.

"The game ends at midnight when the ball end," Kaoru continued.

"And whoever hasn't been discovered gets to pick the loser's outfits for the rest of the week." Tamaki finished proudly.

"I want to dance with Tamaki-sama!" one girl said.

"No, I want to!" another girl exclaimed.

Soon a fight broke out. "We'll draw straws!" Yuki yelled at the brawling girls, causing them all to freeze. Yuki sighed. "We'll color on each straw, one color for each pair. The Host Club will do it too, and whoever has matching colors get's to dance together." she said.

After five minutes, they used pieces of paper and colored on each one. Yuki placed them in her hand and they took on each. Yuki got orange.

Tamaki waved a purple piece of paper in the air and one girl pounced on him. Haruhi looked at her yellow one and didn't have time to duck as a girl threw herself on her. Kyoya showed his green one that matched another girl, Mori got pink and honey got blue, Hikaru got red, which left Kaoru…orange.

He looked over and saw everyone else had different colors, except Yuki. He swallowed and looked at the orange paper in her hand.

"Looks like we're partners." He waved his paper, trying to not show the fact that it felt like his mind were screaming at him.

"It looks like it!" she smiled, and the screaming stopped for a second…but then he had to go and ruin it.

"Hiro might be mad…" he trailed off and mentally kicked himself for mentioning him.

"Yeah, can we explain the game to him?" she looked guiltily at the door.

"If we do, then I lose." He sighed.

"Right…" she thought about it. "I'm sure he'll find someone else to dance with." she still looked a bit guilty.

"You might have a bit of fashion sense, after all…" was the best compliment he could muster up. Truth was, she was beautiful, but he didn't like the mask, it covered her face.

"Thanks." She grinned.

"Alright, the lights will go out and we'll have to run in." Tamaki explained and walked in front of the door.

"Three," Hikaru counted down.

"Two," Kaoru joined in.

"One," They said together.

"Go!" Tamaki ran outside.

It was pitch black out, they're only light was the moon shining through the windows. They entered the ball room and heard people gasping and murmuring,.

The lights came back on and people started dancing, Yuki caught sight of Hiro looking around, but a girl came by and dragged him to the dance floor.

Tamaki took the hand of the dark haired girl who had drawn purple with him. Everyone else did the same.

"Come on." Kaoru whispered and took Yuki's hand; they made their way to the floor and started dancing in sync with everyone else.

Honey got discovered immediately, after all, there aren't many blondes with his height or personality. Tamaki got discovered after that, then it was just Kyoya, Hikaru, Kaoru, Haruhi, and Mori left.

"I feel like if Hikaru get's discovered, you'll be next." Yuki whispered so no one else could hear her.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "Maybe we shouldn't have picked matching masks."

"That would have been a good idea." She laughed along with him.

The Waltz turned into the Tango and most students walked off the dance floor, knowing they'd never be able to keep up with the others.

Surprisingly, Tamaki stayed, but quickly got off when he realized he wasn't suitable for the Tango.

Hiro saw Yuki standing there, watching the other dancers with a smile, trying to comfort Tamaki while he sat on the ground, but what caught his eye was the man beside her. That head full of ginger hair made his eyes narrow.

The ginger leant down and whispered something in Yuki's ear that made her smile and say something back. Hiro walked across the crowd, undetected by the two. The ginger moved away and out the door.

Hiro moved out the door, following him. The ginger put his hands in his pockets casually and strolled down the hall towards the bathroom.

"Which one are you?" Hiro said, making the ginger freeze.

He turned slowly, a smirk playing underneath his mask. "Guess."

"Kaoru, I don't think Hikaru can care about anyone like you care about Yuki." Hiro smirked as Kaoru's smile fell.

"What's that supposed to mean?" they stared each other down, no one else around.

"It means your twin is a sociopath." He shrugged; he knew that the twins were each other's weak point. He watched Kaoru's lips turn up in a snarl.

"I think he cares more than you." Kaoru spat. "At least he has a healthy relationship with his brother, and not some rivalry."

"Healthy?" Hiro laughed. "I don't think you can call that healthy."

It took all of Kaoru's strength not to punch that smirk of Hiro's face. "Maybe you should go back," he said, but it sounded more of a warning, Kaoru started turning back to the directions of his original destination.

"Or what?" Hiro asked. Kaoru stopped, almost hearing the smirk drove him up the wall.

"Or Yuki might wonder where you are." Kaoru strained to say.

"I don't think she's worrying." Hiro said bitterly. "She did run off to go play with the Host Club, or more specifically…you."

Kaoru looked at him. "You're jealous." He smirked.

Hiro's eyebrows twitched. "What?" he laughed.

"You're jealous of the Host Club…" he paused. "'Or more specifically…me'." He mocked him.

"What do I have to be jealous of?" he shrugged. "I mean…what do you have that I want?"

"Her." Kaoru said simply. "You think we have her."

"Great job, Sherlock." Hiro teased.

"Thank you." Kaoru grinned. "Now if you'll excuse me, I drank too much punch." He turned around swiftly and headed down the hallway. Hiro watched his back retreating, than he went back in and saw the Tango had ended and people were back on the dance floor, dancing Viennese Waltz. Hiro smiled at Yuki's longing look.

"You want to dance, don't you?" he crept up behind her.

"Hiro!" she smiled. "Yeah, it looks fun."

He took her hand and led her onto the dance floor. They started dancing; everyone was surprised when they moved onto the dance floor.

"Yu-ki?" Tamaki looked confused. "When'd she learn to dance that?"

"Wow, Yuki-chan is a good dancer!" Honey exclaimed.

"Yeah." Mori agreed in his usual tone.

"Maybe she learned in France," Hikaru said.

"Yes…" Kyoya adjusted his mask. "Trouble is…that's not Kaoru."

They looked again, Hikaru had already noticed it, but everyone else's jaws dropped.

"So where's Kaoru?" Haruhi asked.

"I think he went to the bathroom." Tamaki explained, having been there when Kaoru left.

"Is that Hiro then?" Haruhi asked, causing Hikaru's face to twist into a frown.

"It must be." Hikaru answered her.

Kaoru went back into the ballroom, and noticed another slower-paced song was on. He looked around and saw the Host Club watching whoever danced.

"What's going on?" he asked his twin.

"Umm…" he hesitated, but he didn't have to answer because Kaoru had already looked to the dance floor.

Yuki was having fun, spinning, and keeping in time with the music. Then Hiro spun her and she went over and crashed into someone's chest, when she looked up she saw Kaoru had taken her hand and started dancing with a grin. Then she looked over and saw Hiro glaring.

"This isn't going to end well…" Haruhi sighed.

"Nope." Honey ate a piece of cake he had snuck from the table.

Hikaru couldn't fight the laugh bubbling up at his brother's jealousy.

"What are you laughing at?" Haruhi asked him, and suddenly his laugh grew to where he couldn't breathe.

Kaoru caught sight of him. "Tch." He looked away and Hikaru just laughed harder.

"I-I'm sorry, Kaoru…" he panted and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"What is it?" Haruhi had gotten worried.

"N-Nothing." Hikaru chuckled a little and calmed down.

Somehow, Yuki had gotten back to Hiro and Hikaru started laughing more.

"I can't tell if Yuki's enjoying this…" Haruhi looked at the blonde's face. "Or maybe she's just as confused as we are."

"This certainly is interesting…" Kyoya smirked, something brewing in his mind.

The music ended with Yuki panting, out of breath, in between two glaring boys.

Lightning seemed to strike when there glares met. Yuki was getting dizzy with all that spinning. "Well, that was…interesting…" she looked at both Kaoru and Hiro. "But I'm sort of tired now…so." She inched away from the danger zone around them.

"What was that?" Haruhi growled when she reached them.

"I don't know!" she shouted. "But I'm tired, so I'm going home." She huffed and marched out of the ball room.

"I should go with her; I'll be back in a few minutes." Tamaki followed.

Haruhi and Hikaru wasn't sure if they should go anywhere near the two.

"Well…" Haruhi sighed. "Maybe we should get them away from each other"

"Yeah…" Hikaru looked hesitant to go to them.

"Alright." Haruhi started walking. "Hey, Kaoru?" the ginger didn't look at her. "Hiro?"

Hikaru huffed and started dragging his brother away, while Haruhi dragged Hiro in the opposite direction.

"What the hell?" Hiro yelled.

"What was that?" She continued before he could answer. "You owe Yuki an apology."

He turned away. "Kaoru will do it, so why should I?"

"It doesn't matter whether he does it; you're just as much in the wrong as him." Hiro looked away guiltily.

Meanwhile, Hikaru was walking with Kaoru behind him.

"So, that was interesting." Hikaru broke the silence.

"Yeah…" Kaoru sighed, why had he done that? Now Yuki's probably mad at him.

Meanwhile, Tamaki was following Yuki outside.

"Wasn't that fun." He smiled, trying to brighten the mood, but she was having none of that.

"No." she said shortly. "That wasn't fun, Tamaki." He winced a little; she didn't use his full name unless she was mad.

"Alright then…" he said sadly, causing her to stop.

She sighed and turned around. "Sorry," she said glumly. "It's just; I don't know what's going on."

"With what?" Tamaki questioned.

"I don't know…Hiro I guess." And paused and looked down. "And Kaoru."

Tamaki smiled. "Yeah…"

"What about you and Haru-chan?" she asked innocently.

Tamaki froze. "What about me and Haruhi?"

She looked blankly, as if she was thinking about something. "Nothing." She laughed airily.

* * *

 **Ah, I don't really like this chapter much, but I couldn't think of anything else...sorry (._.)**

 **Special thanks to: Writer Of This Story, Wikked, Pocket Rocket22, SupremeDictatorOfNarnia011, and kingswoodch for your awesome reviews! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for reading this story and taking the time to review, it means a lot to me.**

 **So, I accidentally deleted the chapter where Hiro asks Yuki on a date, whoops! And I also started on future chapter before realizing this so...while I haven't abandoned the idea, I've put it on hold until I finish the chapters I'm working on. Oh and, on that note, BIG things coming up, can you guess what it is? Let's just say some Kaoru/Yuki bonding in the next chapter! Eek, I'm excited! Not really...I still have to work on that chapter to make it better for my lovely Viewer.**

 **So remember to review and tell me what you think. Questions? I'll be happy to answer them!**

 **And just to throw in a corny joke: Man it's been a year since I last updated...get it? No? Sorry...Happy Belated New Years! And happy birthday to whoever has a birthday coming up. Because I need to bake someone a cake who had their birthday a few days ago...Sorry Mom, I'll do it tomorrow...and I know I said that yesterday, but I mean it this time! Mwah! :3**


	11. Chapter 9: Goodbye Yuki

The next few days were fairly peaceful, well as peaceful as it can get in the Host Club. But today, Yuki opened her bag and a note dropped out. She picked it up and read it, then crumpled it up and threw it in the trash.

"Yuki!" she turned around and saw Hikaru running up to her.

"Hikaru," she smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Tamaki sent me, he said he was worried about you." He shrugged.

Yuki sighed. "Why is he worried?"

"Something about…a phone call?" Hikaru narrowed his eyes as he was trying to remember.

"Oh," she swallowed. "Why isn't Kaoru with you?" she asked, changing the subject.

He looked at her with a worried expression, for a split second before returning to his casual demeanor. "He's at home."

"Is he sick?" she looked concerned.

"Yeah…" Hikaru looked away, thinking about when he saw his brother that morning. "The doctors said he'll be fine, just to rest up for a few days."

She looked down at the ground. "Is the Club going to visit him?" Hikaru nodded. "Then I'll come too." She smiled. "I've never been to your house before, will your parents be there?"

"Hmm…" he thought about it. "I think they're leaving later today, why?"

"I want to see what yours and Kaoru's parents are like." She got a dreamy look on her face. "I bet they're wonderful."

"Y-Yeah…I guess so?" he looked at her in confusion before shaking his head and turning around. "We're leaving after Hosting hours so you can meet us then." He waved as he walked back to the Host Club, prepared to play his brotherly love act: concerned for Kaoru.

"After hours?" she mumbled once he left. "Hmm…" she bit her lip.

"I heard she was friends with Tamaki in France," a feminine voice pulled Yuki out of her thoughts. "But when Tamaki moved here, she started spreading rumors about him."

"What?" another voice sounded concerned and also slightly angered.

"Well I heard," it seemed to be a group of three. "That she dated Tamaki when she first came here, then broke up with him to be with Hikaru." Yuki's jaw dropped.

"No, no!" the first voice said. "She was dating Tamaki, then she moved on to _both_ twins, then dumped them for Haruhi, even thought she knows Hiro-san is in love with her!"

"No way!" the second voice scoffed.

Yuki moved closer and opened the door to the empty classroom, save for three girls. One had short black hair that curled inwards and big green eyes that reminded Yuki of a cat, the other had dark brown hair that reached just past her shoulders and her eyes were the same color, she seemed kind of like a deer, the last had mousey brown hair that was tied in a ponytail and big doe eyes. The Cat one had a proud smirk on and the Deer had a wide grin, and the Mouse had a surprised face that looked slightly disgusted.

"I've seen her go in the same car as Tamaki a lot, are they still together?" Mouse asked.

"Poor Tamaki, being dragged around like that. What do they even see in her?" Deer clicked her tongue.

"She's exotic; they must be suckers for that kind of thing." Cat smirked. "An upperclassman tried to reason with her, but she just threw water in her face and told her to mind her own business."

"Which upperclassman?" Mouse asked.

"I think one was an exchange student." Cat answered.

"Why would she do that?" Deer looked disgusted.

"Because she's just a-" Cat saw Yuki in the door way. "K-Kaga-san…" she looked at the others. They all looked anywhere but Yuki's wide eyes as she clutched the door tightly.

* * *

"Where is she?" Tamaki paced the room. "She didn't meet up with us at the Host Club, maybe something happened to her." Everyone rolled their eyes at how much like a worried mother he could be.

"I'm sure she's just busy with something." Haruhi said, trying to calm Tamaki but truth was she was sort of worried too. Yuki would have called or _something_ to let them know she would be late.

"You worry too much Tamaki." Kyoya lifted his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"But Mommy!" he fell to the ground at Kyoya's feet. "Auntie's late!"

"There, there, Tama-chan." Honey patted his head. "She's fine, right, Takashi?" he looked up to the giant who nodded in agreement.

"Maybe she's with Hiro or something." Haruhi shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe…" Hikaru sighed.

"I'm sure she found something better than visiting me while I'm sick." Kaoru chuckled light heartedly.

"But she wouldn't do that if she said she'd be here." Tamaki stood up and frowned deeply.

"Tamaki-chan you'll get wrinkles." The twin's mother entered as Tamaki started going in a fit, asking Haruhi if he had wrinkles. "It's a shame your friend didn't make it, I was hoping to meet her."

"I thought you were leaving for Paris." Hikaru looked at her.

"The plane was delayed because of a storm there," she sighed. "We'll catch it later."

"Maybe Yuki will be here by then." Haruhi said.

Suddenly, Kaoru's phone rang. "Oh, it's Yuki." He said.

"Why is she calling you?" Tamaki screeched and started looking at his own phone. "I was worried about her." His lip started quivering and he threw himself back to Kyoya's feet.

"Hello?" Kaoru answered.

"Kaoru?" her voice was on the other end. "I'm so, so, so, so sorry!" she cried.

"I-It's fine." He had to hold the phone away so he wouldn't go deaf. "Are you okay?"

There was a pause. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine…listen, will you tell Tamaki not to worry?"

He frowned at her stutter, causing everyone to look worried. "Why don't you tell him yourself?"

"Please, Kaoru?" she pleaded. "Will you please?"

He sighed. "Yeah, sure." He looked at Tamaki, who looked alert. "Where are you?"

There was another pause. "I'm in the car…" he could basically hear her swallow.

"Going where?" he asked suspiciously.

"It's not important…" she sighed. "Just, feel better…okay?"

He nodded slowly before realizing she couldn't see him. "Yeah, alright. See you later, right?"

Another pause. "Yeah, bye." And then she hung up.

"What she say?" Tamaki asked expectantly.

"Not to worry," he said slowly. "And she's sorry she couldn't make it."

"That's all?" Tamaki frowned again. "Something's not right…"

* * *

"Was that your friend?" the familiar male voice asked beside Yuki.

"Yes," she looked down. "He was sick today."

"Ah well." Her father nodded. "I wish him well."

"Father…" she looked up at him. "Why are we leaving?"

He sighed in irritation. "Must I explain this?"

She nodded. "It would put my mind at ease."

"Very well," he folded the newspaper he had been reading. "Your grandmother is sick; we're going to pay our respects before she passes."

She frowned. "When did you find out?"

"A few weeks ago," he raised a brown eyebrow. "Why?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I'm telling you now, Adelaide." His voice was stern.

"When will we return?" she sounded hopeful.

"I understand you've made friends here," he nodded. "But it's like every other place, you'll leave them eventually."

"Before they leave me?" she swallowed, fighting back the tears in her eyes.

"Exactly." He looked back down to the newspaper and gave her a sidelong glance. "For God's sake, Adelaide, don't get emotional, this is an important life lesson."

She nodded and wiped the tears that had spilled over, well aware of her father's gaze. "Sorry."

"Sorry?" he raised an eyebrow again.

She looked at him with a blank expression. "Sorry, _sir_." She looked back out the window.

"Oh and about the Suoh kid." He said without looking at her. "I've heard some things about him and that… _Club_." He made a face that seemed a mix of disgust and disappointment. "I don't want you around him anymore, do you understand?" he looked at her shocked face.

"But, Father!" she frowned. "He has been my friend for as long as I can remember, he is like a brother to me!"

"Don't you understand, Adelaide, I'm doing this for your own good." He said, exasperated.

She looked down. "Yes Sir."

"Now stay away from them, I hope you've found friends outside of that club so you're not completely brain-washed."

"I have." She bit her lip, aware that the only friend she knows of outside the club is Hiro, but he didn't need to know that.

"I'm sorry your friend is sick." He didn't sound sincere. "Is he part of that club?" she nodded. "What's his name, you can send him flowers or something but I want no contact after that, I'll talk to Suoh-san and he'll explain it to his son." When she didn't say anything he looked up again. "His name, Adelaide."

"Hitachiin Kaoru." She said without looking at him.

"Hitachiin?" her father shook his head. "I thought they were an esteemed family, the parents must not have raised them in the right environment."

She nodded. "Must have…" It was always easier to agree with him than call him out on his mistakes.

"Adelaide, I want you to wear a _modest_ dress when we get there." He said. "Instead of what I saw in the pictures of that Ball." She was mildly surprised that he even looked at the pictures the Host Club took. "Adelaide?" her name sounded like a warning.

She finally looked at him. "My name is Yuki."

He looked slightly taken aback, but before he could respond the chauffeur spoke. "Sir, I'm afraid the plane to Paris has been grounded due to a storm."

"Damn it." he cursed. "Then we'll have to go back to the hotel for now."

"Actually, may I stop somewhere else?" Yuki looked at him.

"To that club?" he scolded. "I thought I told you-"

"Not to them." she cut him off. "To the Suoh residence, you know, thank the staff." She smiled. "They've been so kind to me. And Tamaki isn't there right now."

"Fine." He breathed in. "Drop me off at the hotel." He ordered the driver. "And you," he turned to Yuki. "Don't be gone longer than…two hours." He thought about it. "That's longer then the drive is, right?

She nodded and felt the car stop in front of the luxurious hotel. "Goodbye, Father."

"Bye." He got out of the car without a glance towards her.

"Where to, Miss Kaga?" the driver asked with a smirk.

"The Hitachiin residence." She smiled, the driver knew her too well.

* * *

"Kaoru!" his mother said in a sing-song voice. "You've got a visitor!"

He sat up and looked in confusion, the Host Club had left, dragging Hikaru with them, who could be here…unless…his eyes widened at the figure in his doorway.

"Yuki…?" he looked at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm visiting you of course." She grinned. "I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier, just got sort of…busy." A shadow seemed to pass over her face.

An awkward silence fell over them. "…Well, I'm glad you came." He tired to defuse whatever was happening.

"Yeah, me too." She sat on the edge of his bed. "So are you feeling better?"

"Ever since you walked through the door." he smirked jokingly.

"That only seems to work if Hikaru's here too." She smiled sympathetically. "What kind of pain meds they got you on, huh?" she poked at him.

"Whatever." He smiled and swatted her hand away. "That phone call was pretty weird." He laughed nervously, wondering if maybe it was a touchy subject.

"Yeah, sorry about that." She laughed along and scratched the back of her head. "Where's everyone?"

He looked surprised. "They left awhile ago." He saw her sad expression. "Its fine, you'll see them tomorrow, you'll see Tamaki later tonight I assume."

"Y-Yeah, I'll see them later." She smiled, but it was obviously forced.

"Did you meet my mother?" Kaoru looked cautiously at her.

"Yeah, she let me in." Yuki nodded. "She seems nice."

"She is." Kaoru swallowed, realizing that they didn't have a lot to talk about, usually someone else was with them, or at least Hikaru. "So, what happened at school today?"

"I'm sure you heard all that from Hikaru." She smiled softly.

"I want to hear it from you." He said carelessly and she blinked. "B-Because…I mean there are always two sides to a story, right?" he stammered when he realized what he had said.

"Well…" she started. "You know Renge-san?" he nodded, and she went into a full story about the disaster school was today, not noticing Kaoru's warm smile as he watched how excited she got over it. "And then after Hikaru left…" her smile fell when she remembered the three girls from earlier. "And then some stuff came up, that's why I was late." It wasn't a lie…some stuff did come up; she just wasn't going to specify.

"Well, that was an interesting day." He smiled. "Why'd I miss it?" he shook his head jokingly. "And it only took…" he looked at his watch. "Forty-five minutes to tell."

Her eyes went wide and she blanched. "T-That long?" she gasped.

"Yeah, why?" he looked at her. "You got somewhere to be?"

"I-I have to go." She stood up and looked at the door hesitantly.

"Yuki?" he asked. "Is everything okay?" she looked at him with watery eyes. "Yuki-" he was cut off when she threw her arms around him in a hug.

"I don't want to go, Kaoru!" she cried.

He had tensed when she hugged him but relaxed and started patting her head gently. "I'll see you tomorrow, Yuki." He tried to comfort her, that this wasn't the last day they'd see each other, but this only seemed to make her cry even more.

"Kaoru," she sniffled, accidently breathing in his scent. It was different than Hikaru's, surprisingly. It was clean, like laundry soap, and a hint of cologne that had long since worn off. "I'm sorry, Kaoru…" she looked up and gave a watery smile.

"What for?" he asked, trying not to think about how close they were.

She looked down and slowly moved away. "For everything…" she bit her lip. "I've been such a nuisance to you and everybody."

"Hey," he moved to sit next to her. "You've never been a nuisance; you can ask any one of us." He rubbed her back comfortingly. "You're our friend, Yuki."

She looked over and saw his smile; she returned it weakly but tried her best not to let her true emotions show. She wasn't sure why she couldn't keep it in this time, it would have been best for everybody if she just left without a word. "Thank you, Kaoru."

"You're welcome Yuki, I know I'm the best at comforting people." He grinned proudly.

She laughed genuinely. "You're right, you are." Then she looked back at the door. "But I have to go now."

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked as she slipped off the bed and started to the door.

She looked back at him, sitting Indian style on his bed and looking at her with innocent eyes. "Yeah." She nodded reassuringly and opened the door.

Kaoru watched her leave, wondering why it felt like it was the last time he'd see her.

* * *

The next day…

Kaoru was sitting in his bed, reading a magazine that his mother's clothing line was featured in. He looked up, unable to concentrate on it; his mind kept going to a certain blonde girl.

He sighed and rolled onto his back, looking up at the high ceiling. Sitting in his bed all day, sick and not allowed to go anywhere could be vexing and incredibly _boring_. He sighed again, this time more harshly and rubbed his face with his hands.

He just wished something would happen, _anything_. That's when he heard the phone ring.

"Oh, thank you!" he ran to it and quickly answered. "Hello, Hikaru?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment. "Kaoru, something's happened." He sounded troubled and Kaoru sat back on his bed.

"What is it?" he asked warily.

"It's Yuki," Hikaru sighed. "She-"

"She's gone!" Tamaki wailed in the background so loud he cut off Hikaru.

"Wait, what does he mean 'gone'?" Kaoru was starting to get worried, thinking the worst.

"Shut him up!" he heard Hikaru growl, but then there was some noise like they were fighting before Tamaki's voice was on the other end.

"Kaoru, she's gone!" he cried.

"What do you mean, Tamaki?" he snapped.

"She's gone, _gone_!" he cried out and then there was the sound of crashing and Kaoru sighed.

"Did he pass out?" he heard Hikaru's voice faintly in the background and then the phone being picked up again.

"Hello?" Kaoru asked.

He heard Kyoya sigh, and he knew it was Kyoya because he _knew_ that sigh. "Yuki's moved back to France." He heard Tamaki wail again and he dropped almost the phone.

* * *

 **And here it is! The big thing I had planned...now that I think about it, this wasn't the best chapter I've written, but who know? I guess I'm a little too hard on myself for these. I combed over it and I'm fairly sure I got all the typos and grammar mishaps, but if you see any, please tell me!**

 **Special thanks to: Wikked, Writer Of This Story, AngelicDemon678, kingswoodch, and Thatoneotaku! Thank you so much for your amazing reviews, they make me so happy! :3**

 **There's going to be a new OC coming up, but I might do the Valentine Special before I post the new chapter. By the way, The Valentine Special will have nothing to do with the current stuff, so you know...it'll just be plopped smack dab in the middle of an adventure with nothing to do with it whatsoever.**

 **But, oh no! Yuki's gone to France, what's a Kaoru to do? And did you like her father? I think I did pretty okay with him.**

 **Don't forget to review and see ya next time!**

 **Also, Happy Birthday to my lovely, lovely nephew! You're getting so old, stop it! Go back to calling me NaNu 'cause you couldn't pronounce my name! Ah, it seems like just yesterday I was so grossed out in the hospital because I saw the nurse put weird gel stuff in your eyes, and I hoped to God that no other baby would start crying because then you would cry and it'd start a chain of crying babies. 3 love you my Lamb Chop!**


	12. Valentine's Special I

"Too bland…" the girl with dark brown eyes tasted the chocolate.

"Madam, might I suggest you let the chef prepare your chocolate?" the butler, who had been with her family for decades, suggested.

"No!" she whined. "I heard that commoners can't afford a chef, so they make it themselves." She smiled at the chocolate batter. "My beloved is a commoner, so he'll appreciate the work I put into this."

"Very well, Madam." He bowed and left the kitchen.

"I'll make the best chocolate you've ever tasted." She chuckled evilly. "And then you'll fall right into my arms!" she smiled dreamily, not noticing the timer go off, not until the smoke started filling up the room. "Oh no!" she ran to the oven and pulled out the chocolate. "It's ruined now!" she looked at the burnt globs of chocolate.

"Are you supposed to put chocolate in the oven?" a maid asked, after seeing the fiasco.

The other maid shrugged. "She'll figure it out, she always does."

* * *

"Valentine's?" Yuki tilted her head.

"Yes, it's the most romantic day of the year." Tamaki said with a flourish. "And I managed to convince Kyoya to let the Host Club participate in this wonderful day!"

"If it's romantic, then I can't imagine the Host Club _not_ participating…" she mumbled.

"Chocolate!" he smiled. "Do you think Haruhi will give me any?"

Yuki shrugged. "Maybe, but remember, everyone thinks she's a boy." She leaned forward in her sitting position on the counter. "Wouldn't it be weird if she were to give you chocolates?" she closed her eyes in thought. "They'd make up stories like they did when I first came here." She thought back to the 'Tamaki's lover' incident.

"She'd have to do it in private then." He nodded confidently, imagining Haruhi in a dress, bashfully handing him a box of chocolates, no one else around, just them. He got a dreamy look that Yuki's next words snapped him out of.

"And what makes you so sure she'll give you chocolates?" she asked, meaning no harm.

"O-Obligatory…" he stammered. "You'll do it too, right?"

"Obligatory?" she frowned again. "Then wouldn't Haru-chan give some to _all_ the Host Club?"

Tamaki froze. "W-Well, yeah…I guess." He averted his eyes. "But that doesn't matter."

"Then what does?" she asked.

"We'll be holding a formal event!" he declared.

"Another ball?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"Not a ball, a simple party." He shrugged. "That only the Club can attend."

"So," she drew out. "Just a Valentine's party?"

"Yes." He grinned proudly.

"Wouldn't that disappoint the customers?"

He faltered, that would disappoint a lot of people…but he _really_ wanted to see Haruhi in a dress. "Separate then…" he suggested.

"I don't know…that seems like a lot of effort…" she whined.

"You're lazy." He glared at her.

"I'm not lazy, the world's just too energetic…" she shrugged. "Honestly…" she grumbled.

Tamaki resisted rolling his eyes. "I'll go call Kyoya."

"Tell him I said 'hi'!" she grinned as he walked out of the room.

She hopped off the counter and grabbed the bag of cookies. "Miss Yuki," Shima's voice made Yuki jump. "I recommend you don't eat those, they'll spoil your appetite."

"Yes ma'am…" she sweat-dropped and pulled her hand out of the bag.

She turned around and saw Shima exit the room. She sighed and put the bag into the cupboard.

Yuki looked around, already bored. Maybe if she went out, something might occur, it tends to if you wait long enough.

She grabbed a black trench coat and started to the door.

"Are you going out?" a maid asked her.

"Yes." She nodded happily.

"Be careful, I heard there was a prowler out lately." She said with fear filled eyes.

"What, are you kidding me?" another maid looked scared.

"I know I'm not walking home tonight." The first maid shook her head.

"I think I'll be alright." Yuki smiled and started to the door, only to stop suddenly and grab some mace. "Just in case…" she mumbled and walked out the door.

She sighed and watched her breath come out in little white puffs. She giggled and buried her face deeper in her scarf, she always like the cold.

She looked up at the star filled sky and smiled. "I'll make some chocolates this year…" she grinned. "That sounds fun!" she hopped over a small branch that was on the sidewalk. But her feet never touched the ground when a pair of hand came out and grabbed her.

* * *

Natsumi was grumbling as she walked to the store. Her parents told her she used too much ingredients and they weren't going to make the servants go get more.

"Those were practice chocolates, so they shouldn't count." She sighed and frowned. Then she heard some noise, like muffled voices.

She paused and looked in the direction they were coming from, and then shook her head. "It-it's nothing…" she told herself. "I'm just scaring myself." A gust of wind blew her scarf in the direction. She sighed wearily. "Fine…" she slowly crept into the narrow alleyway. She brought her hands up to her chest and clutched her necklace nervously.

A cat hissed, causing Natsumi to jump. "Oh, it's just a kitty." She extended her hand to it. "Hi there, are you a stray?" the cat jumped of the brick wall. "O-Oi!" she ran to the other side of the wall and nearly fainted when she saw a man holding a familiar blonde girl.

There were two options; leave it alone, or go and confront them. She looked around nervously, seeing if somebody else might come along and save her. She sighed. "I guess it's up to me…" She looked back at the blonde girl; she was kicking and being half-dragged by the man.

"Shut up!" he growled, his hand over her mouth.

Natsumi's eyes widened and she looked around for something to use as a weapon. Yuki bit into the man's hand, causing him to yelp and release her momentarily. She tried to scurry away, but he gripped her hair and was about to knock her out…when he was suddenly hit on the head with a purse, conveniently filled with rocks.

Yuki looked up with wide eyes to see a panicked looking Natsumi.

Natsumi slowly dropped the heavy purse, she was lucky there were rocks around. She slid down to her knees when her legs started to give out. Her heart was racings and her breath came out in pants.

And they sat there in silence, the unconscious man lying beside them. Then it clicked for Natsumi that he might wake up.

"W-We have to go!" she grabbed Yuki's hand and pulled her up; they started walked briskly to the police station.

"You saved me…" Yuki said.

Natsumi glanced at her, noticing now that Yuki's hair was messy, her cheeks were red from the cold and excitement, and her eyes were huge and filled with fear.

Natsumi stopped and let go of Yuki's hand. "Hmph," she crossed her arms. "It's not like I want a guilty conscience, besides, my beloved would be sad if anything happened to you." She looked away from those piercing green eyes.

"Thank you, Na-chan…" Yuki gave a toothy grin.

"'N-Na-chan'?" she took a step back. "Now listen here, we're rivals!" she pointed an accusing finger at her. "We're not friends."

But Yuki didn't seem fazed; she kept the warm smile on. Natsumi kept walking; the police station wasn't that far, they'd be there in a few minutes.

Yuki looked around, it was pretty dark, and Tamaki would be worried about her by now. And just like magic, her phone rang. She took it out, not noticing the annoyed look Natsumi was giving her.

"Hello?" she asked, managing to keep her voice steady, even though she could feel the lump in her throat and tears stinging her eyes.

"Yuki, where are you?" Tamaki asked with a worried voice.

"Umm…" she looked around for some kind of landmark. "Somewhere by a police station…"

"W-Wait, what?" she could almost hear him frown. "Why are you at a police station?"

"Well, I'm not there yet…" she laughed, trying to cover up the fact that her voice was starting to shake. "I'm a few blocks from it."

"Then…why are you going…" he asked more carefully. "Did you do something?"

"No," she swallowed the lump. "I'll be home in a bit, can I call you back?" She heard him protest but hung up and put the phone in her pocket. She covered her mouth to stifle her sobs, she was scared. Her legs felt like jelly and she wasn't sure she could get to the police station. She was stupid, to come out even after hearing the maid's warning, she wasn't sure what she was thinking.

"We're here." Natsumi stopped in front of the building. "So…are you okay if I go?"

Yuki nodded with a smile. She didn't want to be alone, but she didn't want to impose on Natsumi anymore than she already had "I'm fine."

Natsumi saw the tears tracks on Yuki's cheeks and sighed. If something like that had happened to her, she'd want someone to stay with her. "Go on," she lightly pushed Yuki inside. "I'll be right here." She sat down on the bench.

Yuki stared at her with curious eyes. Natsumi looked away in embarrassment and willed her blush to go away. "Thank you." Yuki smiled and went inside.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Tamaki inspected her carefully.

"I'm okay, I'm okay!" she swatted him away. "I wasn't hurt." She smiled. "Thanks to Na-chan."

"Na-chan?" Tamaki looked behind the blonde girl and saw another first year, fidgeting nervously at the entrance of the large house. "Oh, I know you!" he smiled at her. "Thank you, Na-chan!" he held her hand

"Not you too!" she exclaimed. "Stop with the 'Na-chan'!" she pouted. "I heard you two were living together, but I didn't believe the rumors." She looked around. "Not until now, at least."

"It's a temporary situation." Yuki smiled at her. "My father's out of the country, so I'm living with the Suoh family, since I've known them since I was a toddler."

"Ah," she nodded. "I suppose I should be leaving now." She started to the door.

"If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask." Tamaki opened the door for her. "As a thank you."

She thought about it. "Then tell me, does Haruhi-kun like chocolates?"

Yuki and Tamaki exchanged glances. "I-I don't think _he_ dislikes them…" Tamaki said. Natsumi paid no mind to the emphasis on 'he'.

"The one more thing." She winked mischievously. "Is the Host Club accepting chocolates this Valentine's?"

"Yes, we are." Tamaki smiled. "I'll have a car drive you back."

"Thanks." She walked out, followed by a chauffeur.

Tamaki closed the door, only to look back at Yuki. "You look exhausted." He said.

"You know, I wanted something exciting to happen when I went for that walk." She started to the stairs. "I guess I got my wish."

"Was the man caught?" Tamaki asked.

"Yes, the police found him still unconscious." She smirked and continued up the stairs

Tamaki sighed. He was glad the man was found now; otherwise he would have had a very willing Kyoya dispatch a large number of his police force.

* * *

"That bastard!" Kaoru hit the table with his fist.

Haruhi put a comforting hand on Yuki's shoulder.

"This is why I didn't want to tell them…" Yuki sighed wearily; she looked back at the twins, they looked livid, almost like they were spitting fire.

"When I get my hand on him...!" Hikaru was strangling air.

"Are you okay, Yu-chan?" Honey looked concerned.

"I'm fine, Honey-sempai, nothing happened." She smiled reassuringly, they were overreacting a bit; even Mori had patted her head comfortingly.

Kyoya looked calm and collected like normal, but she caught a glance at what he was typing on his computer, he was using his connections to make sure the guy got the maximum punishment.

"Here, have some cake!" Honey handed her a plate with a slice of cake.

"Thanks." She smiled and took a bite, it was delicious as always. "But really, I'm okay." She told the twins.

"You could have gotten hurt!" Kaoru said worriedly.

"It could have been worse!" Hikaru leaned towards her.

"I can't imagine!" they cried in unison, ever the drama queens.

"They are right though." Haruhi sat by Yuki. "It could have been worse, that's why they're all so hyper."

"But it wasn't worse." She smirked. "Tama-chan even made me see a doctor."

"What if you had gotten a sprain or something and you hadn't noticed because of the adrenaline?" Tamaki defended himself.

"The adrenaline had long since worn off by the time I got back…" she frowned.

"It's time for class, are you sure you should have come to school?" Haruhi asked.

"We'll carry you!" the twins picked her up together, ignoring her shouts of protest.

"Why do you need to carry her?" Haruhi asked.

"In case she falls." They said simply and started down the hallways, the odd looks flew over their heads.

"We're being stared at!" Yuki pushed Hikaru's cheek.

"Then stop making a scene." He said.

"You're the one making a scene!" she thrashed around.

"We aren't the ones flailing around." Kaoru said.

"I'm going to fall!" she hit Kaoru's head.

"Ow!" he cried. "What was that for?"

"Put me down!" she grabbed both their ears until they set her down. "Thank you!" she huffed and walked away, leaving both twins rubbing their red ears.

She walked into the classroom, smiling at Natsumi as she passed by her desk.

"Did…did Kaga Yuki just smile at you?" Natsumi's friend asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Natsumi cradled her chin in her hand.

"What happened to 'we're rivals'?" she raised an eyebrow.

"We are." She ground out. "She just doesn't see me as a threat, I guess."

Her friend sucked air in through her teeth. "Ouch." She shook her head. "But you know, she does have that whole French thing going for her."

"She's a frickin' French model!" Natsumi exclaimed. "How am I supposed to compare to that."

Her friend made a face that told Natsumi she _couldn't_ compare to that. "You'll be okay…" she patted Natsumi's back.

Natsumi glared at her, and then looked back at Yuki. She wasn't going to resort to bad gossip, hoping it circles back to the Host Club like the other girls, no, she had more class than that, and that's exactly what she was going to show her beloved Haruhi.

Her eyes were drawn to the twin when they came stumbling in. "Yuki!" they shouted in unison. "Haruhi's being mean!"

They clung to her as Haruhi walked in. "What did mean Haru-chan do?" she pouted.

Haruhi growled and hit Hikaru on the head with her bag. "I told you to shut up!"

Now all three of them were cowering in the corner, huddled together. "Haru-chan's scary!" Yuki stuck out her bottom lip.

Haruhi sighed and calmed down. "Class is starting, get out of the corner." She motioned for them to get up.

Natsumi watched them, hating the twins for aggravating her beloved, but also watching as one twin purposely avoided helping Yuki up so the other had to. "Oh ho?" she raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I won't have to compare to her…"

"Oh no…" her friend sighed, realizing a Natsumi plan was bubbling up.

"Oh yes." She laughed evilly.

* * *

Yuki was chuckling in the corner of Music Room 3#, she was reading the poem that Tamaki wrote, and Hikaru and Kaoru were behind her covering their mouths to stifle their laughter since Tamaki was looking at them with hopeful eyes.

"Are you showing this to all the guests?" Kaoru asked with a shaky voice.

"Yes." Tamaki smiled. "Beautifully written, no?"

"I-It's something, Tama-chan." Yuki gave a weary smile.

"We're not showing that to the guests." Kyoya said from behind them.

Tamaki's face made Yuki's heart clench. "It's okay, Tama-chan." She patted his back as he curled up in his corner of woe. She sent a glare to Kyoya. "I know you worked hard on it."

Hikaru accidently let a small laugh escape and Tamaki wailed and threw himself at Haruhi.

"Sempai, knock it off!" she tried to pry him off but he wouldn't budge, she sighed and pointed at the door. "Yuki, Hiro's here to see you."

Kaoru's smile was immediately wiped off his face as Yuki jumped up and went to the door.

"Hey," Hiro smiled when he saw her. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?" he asked.

"Well…" she was about to say how the Host Club was doing a party, but Kaoru interrupted her.

"On Valentine's, isn't that a little bold?" he gave a tight smile.

"Oh, tomorrow's Valentine's Day?" Hiro returned the smile sarcastically. "I had no idea."

"Yeah, she's not available, we're having a private party." He was about to slam the door, but Hiro's foot prevented that.

"I'll accept that, if she's the one to say it."

They both looked at her and she flinched. "U-Umm…" she looked at Kaoru, then back at Hiro. "I can meet up with you after the party." She tilted her head, wondering if that's what they wanted her to say, from Kaoru's face it wasn't, but from Hiro's victorious face it was…she was confused. "Okay?" she raised an eyebrow, but she was ignored while the two boys glared at each other

"Well, you got your answer." Kaoru said tightly as Hiro gave a smug smirk.

"Indeed I have…" he said smugly.

Kaoru ground his teeth. "You can go now." He made a 'shoo' motion with his hand.

Hiro nodded and took a large breath, enjoying this victory. "Yes, I believe I will." He nodded again with a smirk that Kaoru wanted to slap off of his stupid face. He finally turned around with a satisfied hum.

Hikaru came up to him and made a face.

"What?" Kaoru sighed.

"Nothing…" he looked away.

* * *

"Happy Valentine's Day, Hikaru-kun!" A brown haired girl offered a bag of chocolates to the ginger, only it wasn't the right one.

He smiled silently and reached for the bag, but Yuki interrupted them. "But that's Kaoru…" she said innocently.

The girl looked at Yuki, than back at Kaoru with tear filled eyes. "I-I'm so sorry!" she cried and ran away.

"She's so sensitive…" Yuki mumbled as she watched the girl run.

"Yuki…" Kaoru sighed. "You can't correct the customers, even if they're wrong."

"Why not?" she pouted, not used to being scolded by either twin.

"E-Excuse me." A girl with black hair walked up to them nervously. "Y-You're Kaoru?" she looked at him, completely ignoring Yuki.

"Yes, that's right." He smiled.

"Here," she extended her hand and in it was a heart shaped box of chocolates. "Please accept this."

"Thank you." He smiled wider, but before he could say anything else, the girl squealed in excitement and ran off.

Yuki watched him smile at the box the girl had just given him and ignored the painful feeling in her chest. "Does receiving chocolates really make people happy?" she asked him.

"Yeah, why?" he looked back at her.

"Even if they're obligatory?" she recalled her conversation with Tamaki.

"I suppose why…" he looked back at the bag in his hand for a moment, then looked back at Yuki. "Why?" he gave a toothy grin. "Are you planning on giving me chocolates?" he looked positively elated at the thought.

"Yeah, Tama-chan said I should." She answered, confused at his happiness. "Do you want some?"

He blinked and looked away with a blush. "Y-Yeah, do what you want."

She smiled and he felt his heart skip a beat. "Then I will."

He fought back the goofy grin that was attempting to show on his face and settled for a wry smirk. "Okay then."

She nodded contently and turned to walk away. "See you in class, Kaoru!" she said over her shoulder.

He watched her go, and as soon as he was sure she was gone, he put the bag in his pocket with one hand and the other went up to his face to cover up the smile. His heart was beating too fast for such a simple thing as obligatory chocolates…what was going on with him?

He wasn't aware of the brown eyes on him, Natsumi was watching from around the corner of the hallways, she saw everything. She grinned at Kaoru's reaction; this could be good news for her.

"Cute, isn't it?" said a voice behind her, she bit back a scream as she jumped. She turned around only to come face to face with a smirking Hikaru.

"W-What do you mean?" she asked, cursing herself for stammering.

He nodded to his twin. "She can tell us apart, and she makes him do that." She looked back at Kaoru and sweat-dropped when she saw him banging his head against the wall.

"What is he doing?" she asked.

Hikaru shrugged. "Being an oblivious idiot it seems." Then he rolled his eyes. "There seems to be no shortage of those…"

She looked back at Hikaru. "Do they like each other?"

Hikaru shrugged again. "Who knows?" then he stepped out into the hallway and walked up to Kaoru. "Hey." He said, smirking when Kaoru jumped, he seemed to be having that effect on people today.

"Hey…" he calmed down when he saw who it was.

"You okay?" he pointed at the red mark on Kaoru's forehead from where he had hit his head.

Kaoru's hand went up to it unconsciously. "Yeah, I'm fine…" he looked away. "Should we get to class?"

"Yah, we don't have the next one with Yuki, right?" he smirked again secretly when he saw his twin flinch.

"No, I guess not." He murmured.

Natsumi watched their backs as they walked away, there was obviously something going on with the French girl and the younger twin, she had to use this to her advantage.

"Natsumi!" her friend called her. "Class is starting!"

"Right!" she started walking to her next class, she'd have to think of a plan…

* * *

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Yuki jumped onto Tamaki's bed. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" she shook the lump of covers.

He groaned and sat up, his eyes barely open and his hair messed up. "Yuki?" he mumbled drowsily. "What time is it?"

"Hmm…" she looked at the clock on the nightstand. "Four."

"What?" he jumped up, fully awake. "How could I sleep so late?" he panicked. "What about school?" then he looked out the window, seeing it was still dark out. "Yuki…it's four A.M." he squinted at her. "Why are you up so early?"

"I'm making chocolates." She smiled.

"But…why wake me up?" he tilted his head.

"I wanted you to try some!" she held out a piece of chocolate as Tamaki looked at her in disbelief.

He sighed and popped the chocolate in his mouth, then his eyes widened. "It's good!" he exclaimed.

She laughed happily, but he had a feeling it was more because she wasn't thinking right in her tired state. "Isn't it?"

"But what made you get up so early?" he yawned.

"I couldn't sleep…" she smiled drowsily. "So I made everybody some chocolate."

"E-Everybody?" His eyes widened. She hummed and slowly started falling down on his bed. "Ah!" he jumped. "Yuki?" She was already sleeping, smiling goofily. He sighed and moved the piece of hair out of her mouth. "We're not kids anymore, you can't sleep in here." He pushed her gently but she didn't stir.

He sighed, and picked her up, her head rolled onto his shoulder. He walked out the door and into her room; he gently set her down on her bed and walked back out.

He wasn't tired anymore so he decided to go and drink some tea, but when he got to the kitchen, he was greeted by a large amount of chocolates, and a huge mess of batter.

"Yuki…" he sighed but smiled fondly. The maids will clean this up, but Yuki would probably get upset if all her chocolates were thrown away by the maids. So Tamaki put them all in the little bags she already had out. "Everyone will love them." he said as if she was there, he yawned and started back to his room.

* * *

Hiro was getting dressed, trying to keep the smile off his face; Yuki had agreed to go out with him tonight…of course, she probably doesn't think it's a date. "But a guy can dream, can't he?" he said aloud.

"He can." Familiar voice…Hiro narrowed his eyes at the person in the door.

"What do you want?" he sighed and put on his school jacket.

"What dream?" Kazukiyo leaned against the door frame.

"Tch." Hiro turned away with a blush. "It's nothing that concerns you." He started to the door and brushed past his brother.

"Is it Yuki-san?" he asked. "You like her don't you?" he smiled affectionately. "She's good for you…"

Hiro blushed again and stormed off, leaving Kazukiyo smiling at Hiro's behavior.

* * *

 ***Clears throat* Hello, so...sorry about this...I know it's late, and I'm also making this into a two-parter. Sorry...**

 **Special thanks to: animegal1357, SCARLETCOIN2012, and Kwicis for your super-duper awesome reviews!**

 **Again, sorry about this...**

 **Please don't forget to review.**


	13. Chapter 10: Home Sweet France

**Yeah...so I've decided to continue the Valentines...*drum roll* next year! Next Valentines to be exact, I sort of got some writers block with that, but not with the main story! That's still going strong. Thank you for your patience, now on with the story!**

* * *

"This isn't funny, Kyoya." Kaoru growled on the other end of the phone.

"I wish it were a joke." Kyoya looked over to the fitful Tamaki.

"S-She'll come back, right?" Tamaki sniffed with puppy dog eyes directed at Haruhi. "She'll visit, right?"

"Tama-chan's right, she'll visit…this isn't the end." Honey said, holding back tears. "Takashi!" he wailed and threw himself at the gentle giant.

Hikaru frowned deeply. "Kaoru?" he took the phone from Kyoya.

"…Yeah?" he said after a pause.

"We're all coming back to our house after school, is that okay?"

"Yeah, yeah that's fine." He said hurriedly. "Umm…I'm starting to get a little tired, so I'm going to have to let you go, okay?"

"Alright, go rest." He said worriedly. "See you later." They hung up.

Haruhi saw Hikaru look at the phone and sigh. "Is he alright?" she asked.

Hikaru looked up, but his face was twisted with worry. "I'm not sure…" he looked back down.

"Kyoya, do you know a way to contact Yuki?" Haruhi turned to him.

"No, but even if I did, her father had banned all contact." He put his hand in his pocket and kept his face stoic, but Haruhi could tell he was angry because of the way he gripped his notebook tightly in one hand.

"He doesn't approve of us…" Tamaki suddenly snapped out of his sobs. "Wouldn't be the first time he's kept us from seeing each other, but I have a feeling this is more permanent…" he gave a sad smile.

"Sempai…" Haruhi sighed. "We have to do something, right?"

"What can we do?" Honey asked sadly, clutching Usa-chan closely.

"Her father's disconnected her phone, and we don't know her address in France." Hikaru said.

"Tamaki-sempai, do you know where they might be going?" she turned back to the tall blonde.

He laughed humorlessly. "There are a lot of places they could go; they have two mansions and four vacation homes in France alone."

"Damn rich people…" Haruhi grumbled. "One home is enough."

"Can't we send a letter to each one?" Honey suggested.

"Her father could see the letter first." Hikaru said.

"Then we'll have to go to each one!" Honey decided with a smile.

"We'll be turned away at the door!" Hikaru grumbled.

"Maybe this is one of those things we have to stay out of?" Haruhi asked.

"No!" Tamaki shouted. "I know Yuki; she doesn't want to leave right now…"

* * *

Kaoru set the phone down silently and flopped back on the bed. So that's why Yuki was acting so weird last night.

He sighed and closed his eyes. This wasn't what he meant by wanting something to happen; he really had to be careful of what he wished for.

He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, Yuki would probably have landed a little while ago; so she was in France…he sat up and glared at the headboard.

"I should have known. Why didn't she tell me?" he got up and paced around the room, he had to get out of here, he had to do something!

He started biting his nails and paced faster. "I'll fly to France…" he nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea…" then he fell face-first on the bed. "That's a horrible idea…" he said, but it was muffled by the sheets.

* * *

Yuki sat at her window seat; she had to admit she missed this place, the house she grew up in. Her room was exactly as she left it, the bed was hand carved, similar to the one she had in Japan but it wasn't a canopy, there were small animals carved into the headboard, it was a scene from her favorite book as a child. It was back when her father spoiled her, now he simply didn't care…a sad smile passed over her pale face.

She looked back out the window at the morning sky; it was probably about time to get out of school in Japan…she shook her head; she had to stop thinking about that, she had to adjust like all the other times, just adjust.

She sighed and got up, maybe she would go over and see Anne-Sophia if she could, she hadn't seen the woman in over two years, since they had been in different countries since Tamaki had moved. She flipped through it, watching her progress over the years, but one caught her eye.

She frowned slightly and sat back on her fluffy comforter on her bed, staring at the charcoal sketches, there were a few on the one page; one was of a fountain that looked oddly familiar, the other of two identical people that she couldn't quite make out, it was like she had forgotten their faces when she drew them.

"Who are you?" she said to no one in particular. "This was awhile ago." she looked at the date drawn in the corner. "That date…" she frowned again. "I know that date…" she placed her finger over the black ink scrawled in the corner, a small smile graced her features and she tilted her head slightly. "Oh that's right…"

Hikaru and Kaoru…

She sighed and set the book down again, she barely had time to get her things from Tamaki's house after talking with Kaoru. Tamaki hadn't been there but she left a letter for the Shima to give him after a tearful goodbye to the old woman, although the tears were mostly on Yuki's side, but still.

"I wonder if he's got it yet…" she laid back on her bed and spread her limbs out. "Maybe I should have stayed to give it to him?" then she sat back up and tried the doorknob again, it was still locked.

Her father had said she didn't need to go anywhere because they may or may not have had a slight argument on the plane ride back…she groaned and hit her head on the door.

"Miss Yuki?" a familiar voice came from the other side of the door. "I heard you were home."

"Pamela!" she smiled brightly. "Can you open the door, please?"

"I'm sorry, my dear," the middle aged woman said sincerely. "We were all instructed not to…"

"…Then may I have a snack?" Yuki pleaded after a pause.

"I suppose, Mr. Kaga never said anything about not letting you have something to eat…" Yuki smiled when she could basically hear Pamela's smirk.

"Thank you…" she bit her lip. "Is James still working here?"

She frowned when she heard the woman laugh. "Of course he is, do you want me to send him up?"

There was a pause and she could almost hear that smirk again. "Yes please…"

"Very well, and what kind of snack do you want, Dear?" she asked.

"Just some tea and biscuits will do." She grinned and sat down on the ground beside the door.

She was wearing faded, torn jeans and a plain red T-shirt, her hair was in a messy bun and her feet were bare, but she knew James wouldn't care. Then she heard a knock on the door and rushed towards it, only to stop when she reached it.

"Miss Yuki?" a familiar voice was just outside; it was deeper than she remembered. "Pamela told me you wanted me."

"A-Ah, yes…"

"I have your tea, may I open the door?" he asked.

She hummed in mock-thought and smiled when she heard him laugh. "Go ahead."

The door opened and revealed a boy about Tamaki's age; his tousled dark hair was shaggy and hanging over his golden eyes.

She narrowed her eyes and stared at him. "You look older…" he smiled.

"You do too." She said. "You know, I met someone with the same color eyes as you."

"Really?" he nodded. "Is he as handsome?" He did some weird pose that she assumed was supposed to be sexy.

Then she faltered on his question. "Hmm…" she put a finger to her chin and looked away. "I suppose a lot of people find them attractive."

"'Them'?" he smiled slightly.

"Twins." She took the tray from him and set it on the coffee table. "My friend, Haruhi, would probably pass out if she saw this room."

"Why is that?"

"She nearly did when she saw my room at Tamaki's house, and this one is bigger."

"It is a bit intimidating." Then he picked up the sketch book she had picked up earlier. "These are pretty good."

"Thanks." she walked back over to him and smiled lightly. "So how's your father?" she asked.

He knew she was changing the subject but he hadn't seen her in awhile and decided to leave it. "He's good, remarried." He nodded.

"Oh, is she nice?"

"Yeah, she's cool…" he took a step closer. "I missed you, Yuki."

"I missed you too, James."

"So what have you been up to?" he sat down on the rug and she followed suit. "I heard you were hanging around a bad crowd."

She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't," she sighed. "It was Tama-chan, and Kyoya…you remember me talking about Kyoya right?" he nodded and she continued. "And Kaoru, and Hikaru, and Haruhi…" she counted off her fingers. "And Honey-sempai, and Mori-sempai." Then she put her hand down. "And I was friends with a boy named Hiro too."

"Why was I told they were a bad crowed then?" he shook his head.

"They have something called the Host Club." She explained.

"Ah," he nodded in understanding. "And your father's…forgive me, but he's a little old-fashioned."

"It's not like they did anything beside flirt…" then she rolled her head back. "I can see where Father was coming from, but I don't think he understands."

"When do father's ever understand?" he smirked.

"Not funny." She swatted his arm. "And I probably won't see them again now…"

"Did you get a boyfriend?" he said, changing the subject.

"Of course not!" she narrowed his eyes at him.

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand it." he shrugged. "Boy's are all over you, and you just put them down…" he shook his head in mock-disappointment.

"B-Boy's aren't all over me…" she looked grossed out.

"With your looks I'm surprised you don't have to beat them off with a baseball bat." He grinned; he had always loved to tease her.

"Shut up, James." She pouted and stood up.

"So no one there even liked you like that?"

"No!" she frowned. "Why do you even think that?"

He shrugged innocently. "Just call it like I see it."

"Well don't…" she crossed her arms and turned away.

He laughed and stood up too. "Just trying to uplift your spirit, obviously it's not working."

"Thank you…" she looked at him with sincere eyes. "You always were a good friend." She smiled.

"Y-Yeah…" he blushed and looked away. Suddenly, his phone rang. "Oh excuse me." He took it out of his pockets. "Hello?" he was silent but Yuki saw him start to frown. "Master Tamaki?" she quickly ripped the phone from him.

"Tama-chan?" she said quickly.

"Yuki!" he wailed. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, Tama-chan!" she cried. "But I'm not supposed to be talking to you right now."

"Then why'd you take the phone from me?" James looked at her in disbelief but she ignored him.

"Hold on, let me put you on speaker phone." He said. There was a pause before she heard Honey cheer.

"Yu-chan!" Honey exclaimed.

"Honey-sempai?" she asked. "Who all is there?"

"Me, Kyoya, Honey-sempai, Mori-sempai, the Shady Twins, and Haruhi." Tamaki said. "We all want to see you, so I called James' number hoping you would be there."

"I want to see you too, Tama-chan, but I'm not allowed to."

"I heard, I'm sorry Yuki, this is my fault." Tamaki sounded teary.

"It's not your fault, Tama-chan, it's my father's." she assured.

"Yuki, will you come back?" Haruhi asked.

"I don't think so, my grandmother is sick, and my father won't tell me anything…" just then she heard a car outside on the gravel driveway, she looked out the window and saw her father get out of the town car. "I have to go now, Tama-chan…" she said sadly.

"Wait!" Hikaru said. "Will you tell us if you find out anything?"

She faltered, wondering if she should promise that. "I'm not sure, but…I love you all…" her voice cracked. "And since he's not there, tell Hiro I miss him too."

"We will…" Tamaki said.

"Goodbye." She hung up and put a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs.

James slowly took the phone back and wrapped his arms around her as she finally let go and cried into his shirt. "It's alright, Yuki…" he said. "You'll see them again, I'm sure of it."

"How can you be sure?" she asked in between sobs.

"I've told you before, I'm psychic." He grinned cheekily and it earned a few weak laughs. "Now how's about we play a game?"

"Monopoly?" she asked while wiping her tears away.

"Okay, but I'm warning you, I've gotten wicked good." He wiggled his eyebrows as she smiled.

"I'd like to see you try to beat me, but just so you know…I've been practicing."

"You have?" he smiled, glad that she seemed a bit happier.

"But of course, I can't let my wonderful skills get rusty." She said proudly.

"A bit full of yourself." He mumbled.

"Just a bit." She winked and set up the game. "I'm the top hat."

"No fair, I want to be the top hat!" he exclaimed.

"You can be the dog." She smirked as she set the dog on start.

"I'll be the steamboat then…" he grumbled and put the dog back in the box.

As they played, they failed to hear the footsteps up the stairs, until a knock sounded. "Yuki?" her father asked. "Are you up?"

"Yes, come in." she said and set her piece on Boardwalk. "I'll buy it!" James, being the banker, grumbled as he took her money and gave her the card.

Her father walked in and saw his daughter sitting on the ground, in plain clothes and messy hair, with her childhood friend, who also happened to be the servant. "Yuki, what are you doing?" he sighed.

"Playing Monopoly." She said simply and didn't notice James start to get nervous. He had always found Mr. Kaga to be intimidating.

"Why aren't you dressed?" he raised an eyebrow.

She looked down at her clothes. "I am dressed."

He let out another sigh of frustration, and this time, Yuki saw James make a face at her. "I mean dressed for going to your grandmother's."

"She won't tell the difference, she didn't come from money." She passed 'go' and took two hundred dollars from the bank, seeing as James was staying completely still, hoping her father might not see him.

"Yuki!" he boomed and James saw Yuki flinch and drop her piece. "Go get dressed." He stared her down and she looked up at him.

"Yes sir…" she said and stood to go into the bathroom.

"And James," he looked at the dark haired boy. "Please leave." He waved his hand dismissively.

"Yes sir." He bowed respectively and left the room.

Mr. Kaga stood unmoving in his daughter's room, taking in the memories that the walls held. His eyes wandered to her bed and his lips twitched upwards at the small animals on the headboard, but he quickly looked away and put his lips in a thin line. "Are you ready?" he called.

"Yes," she stepped out and he was glad she learned to get dressed quickly, most of the time was probably spent on her hair, which was now in a high ponytail, her dress was a light purple and went to her knees, a ribbon was tied around her waist.

"Are you keeping that streak?" he asked, looking at the red in her hair. "You know I've never liked it."

"I do," her hand moved to it without her realizing. "I-I'll keep it."

He sighed and shook his head. "Your choice I guess." She smiled softly as he stepped out of the room. "We're leaving in fifteen minutes."

"Alright." She nodded and shut the door behind him with a sigh.

After fifteen minutes, like he said, her father came to collect her, and then they were off. The car ride was spent in silence.

* * *

There was an eerie silence in the twins' room after Tamaki put his phone back in his pocket.

"So who's James?" Haruhi asked, after getting uncomfortable in the deafening silence.

"Oh uh…" Tamaki looked up at her. "He's a servant in the main mansion, from what I remember, the two of them were pretty good friends."

"So she's in the main mansion?" Hikaru asked.

"It would seem so…" Tamaki bit his lip angrily. "I'm not really a fan of her father's…" he said suddenly.

"You're not alone." Kaoru said, they had noticed how he was unusually silent during the phone call.

"Did…something happen before she left?" Haruhi asked him cautiously.

"What do you mean?" his eyes widened.

"Kaoru?" Hikaru frowned.

His twin looked down and sighed. "She came here." everyone looked at him.

"Why?" Tamaki grabbed him by the shirt with a desperate face. "Why did she go to you instead of me?" he bit back his tears.

"She thought all of you were still here." Kaoru raised his hands in surrender. "But she was acting sort of weird…" he said when Tamaki let go of him.

"Weird how?" Haruhi asked.

"Like she didn't want to go…" he looked down sadly. "I should have asked why, huh?"

"We should have stayed!" Tamaki cried and threw himself onto Haruhi.

"There there, Sempai…" she patted his back.

"I suppose we should leave now." Kyoya said. "Kaoru, I assume you'll be in school tomorrow?" Kaoru nodded.

The Club left, leaving Hikaru and Kaoru alone in an awkward pause. "So, what should we do?" Hikaru asked. Kaoru just shrugged and looked out the window. "Kaoru…" Hikaru started. "Did something happen when Yuki came here?"

Kaoru looked at his brother. "Not really…" he looked back down. "I just feel kind of bad I didn't ask her why she was upset."

"Do you think she would have told you?" Hikaru smirked. "She didn't even tell Tamaki."

"Yeah, I guess…" he looked back to the window and sighed. "But I can't help it."

Hikaru climbed into the bed laid down next to his twin. "I know…" he closed his eyes.

"Know what?" Kaoru looked back to him.

Hikaru grinned. "Nothing."

Kaoru's eyes narrowed but he let it go. "I'm getting hungry."

Hikaru sat up. "Me too, want to go get something from the kitchen?"

"Yeah." Kaoru stood up and stretched.

"You've been lying in bed for the past few days, I'd be sore too." Hikaru laughed at his brother's pained face.

"Yeah…" he sighed and popped his back. "Let's go." He walked to the door and looked back at his brother's knowing face. "What?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing." He waved it off. "I'm feeling Italian food, you?"

"Yeah, sure." He watched Hikaru walk out the door.

* * *

Yuki played with the hem of her dress nervously; her father was reading some book and seemed very relaxed.

The nurse had told them to wait a few minutes while she went to get Yuki's grandmother ready. Yuki cleared her throat for the umpteenth time, earning an odd glance from her father.

"She's ready to see you now." The nurse came back out.

"Yuki," her father looked back at her. "Come on." She nodded and stood up. Hopefully this wouldn't be a disaster…

* * *

 **Well, there it is! And yeah, more OC's are coming, but most of them will only last this whole dealio. I regret to inform you that Hiro will not be in the next few chapter, he seems to have gotten sick (It must be going around).**

 **Special thanks to everyone who reviewed, animegal1357, SCARLETCOIN2012, Kwicis, Wikked, and Writer Of This Story.**

 **And just a little responding...**

 **SCARLETCOIN2012: I'm not taking Yuki out, I'll never take her out, she's the main character in this story, and thank you, I wasn't sure if i was doing any good with the bullying thing, seeing as i don't have a lot of experience, I'm mostly going off of what I** **would hate happen to me and other shows.**

 **Wikked: I was thinking that, but it probably won't be with Natsumi, since she's more pro-Yuki/Kaoru, so most of what she'll be doing will only cause amusement for everyone, but the twins being all amazing and awesome and amazing (did I say that twice?) will be in further chapters.**

 **Wow, everyone kind of hates Yuki's dad, and I even tried to tone down his whole stupidity thing.**

 **Any questions, please tell me! Like why Yuki's name is Japanese but she herself is fully French, I was wondering why no one questioned that...**


	14. Chapter 11: Flashbacks and Grandmothers

Yuki walked into the drab room, the sound of an EKG beeping was the only sound in the room. The nurse scuttled around Yuki and her father, going to the bed in the middle of the room and fluffing a few pillows.

"Adelaide?" a small, frail voice called out. "Adelaide, dear, come closer, I want to see you."

Yuki took a breath and strained to not make a face at the musty smell. "Hello, Grandmother." She curtsied.

"There you are." She smiled and reached out a hand to take Yuki's. "And how is my favorite granddaughter?"

"I'm your only granddaughter." Yuki smiled. "How are you?" she asked politely.

Her grandmother made a face. "I'm hooked up to machines and it hurts to pee." She said. "And my back is killing me." She turned to the nurse.

"I'll get some painkillers." The young girl said and left the room.

"And how are you?" her grandmother asked Yuki.

"I'm fine, same old, same old." She smiled.

Something flashed in the old woman's eyes and she turned to Yuki's father. "George, will you help that nurse find the painkillers?" Yuki's father nodded. "Thank you." She said as the man left, and then she held up a medicine bottle filled with painkillers. "I think that'll keep them."

"Oh I missed you, Grandmother." Yuki grinned at the bottle.

"Now," the old woman shifted and patted the spot beside her. "Come sit down." Yuki did just that and smiled warmly at familiar paintings on the roof of the canopy.

"I've always loved lying in this bed." She whispered.

"I know." The woman kissed her head. "Now, tell me what's bothering you?"

Yuki sighed, of course her grandmother could see through her. "Do you remember Tamaki?" the woman blinked a couple times.

"Ah yes, the charmer." The old woman smiled, remembering when the young boy charmed the pants off everyone at her dinner party, including herself. "Did he do something?"

"No." Yuki said quickly. "But he has this club…" she looked away. "Father doesn't agree with it."

"And let me guess." She sighed. "He's decided to move you once again, and banned you from seeing Tamaki or this…club?"

"In a nutshell, Grandmother." Yuki sighed sadly.

"My son-in-law is an idiot, Adelaide."

"Could you call me Yuki?" she looked up into her grandmother's blue eyes. "I like Yuki better."

"Of course, Yuki." She smiled. "And was there…a boy you liked in this club?" she asked with an innocent face.

Yuki hummed. "No…" she lay back down. "But I went to a masquerade with a boy named Hiro." She ignored the face of a certain mischievous twin.

"Is he nice?"

"Yeah, he's really nice…" she smiled. "And there's a girl, Haruhi, she's my best friend, beside Tama-chan." She started telling all the stories she had, the Masqurade, which her grandmother laughed wholeheartedly when she said how Hiro and Kaoru were both trying to dance with her. She talked about Christmas and the gifts she got, she talked about all the wacky Host Club adventures, and she even talked about Hilda and Farah.

"They seem like trouble." Her grandmother wisely said.

"Yeah…" she looked down again. "I have missed you." She said with a smile.

"I've missed you as well, Yuki." She gave her a hug.

* * *

Kyoya lay on his bed, it would be troublesome to try to reach Yuki, but he had no doubt that Tamaki would try.

He let a small smile grace his face for a moment, he supposed for Tamaki it would be hell if he never saw Yuki again.

He knew those two had sibling bond and wondered if one of his siblings went out of the country and he could never see them again, would he feel what Tamaki was feeling? No, it was different; his relationship with his siblings was different from Tamaki's with Yuki, because those two idiots might care for each other more than Kyoya cared for his _real_ brothers, and vice versa. He might feel sad if his sister went out of the country, but he still doubted it was as much as Tamaki felt.

And what about the other members of the Host Club? He had seen how Haruhi had grown fond of the French girl, Honey and Mori too, Hikaru and Kaoru seemed to care for her, but there was something different about Kaoru's affection towards her. He smirked this time; no doubt Kaoru harbored feelings for the French girl, although he would have to keep her from Hiro.

He sighed and closed his eyes. And what about him? How did he feel about all this? Well, he was angered by Yuki's father and saddened by her leaving, just like any friend.

He still remembered when he first met her, having only known Tamaki for a few months he was skeptical about letting another bumbling, French fool into his life.

* * *

Kyoya rolled his eyes as he heard the blonde boy go on and on about nothing in particular, he seemed more energetic today.

He set his pencil down after it became clear he wasn't going to get any work done. He looked at Tamaki and saw how he was practically shining.

"Is today special…?" he asked hesitantly.

Tamaki paused and grinned and Kyoya. "You guessed it."

Kyoya held back a groan, this meant he was never going to get this project done by tonight. "What is it?" he asked, wanting to get this over with so he could get back to his work.

Tamaki seemed positively giddy. "I'm going to see an old friend of mine."

"From France?" he asked and looked back down to his paper.

"Yes." Tamaki nodded. "She's wonderful, you'll love her!" he hopped off the desk he was sitting on and smiled widely. "Oh, I feel like I haven't seen her in forever!"

"Oh?" Kyoya held his chin in his hand and rested his elbow against the desk. "How long has it really been?"

"Since I moved here." He said simply.

"So, only a few months?" he raised an eyebrow. "Is she your girlfriend?" Kyoya shook his head, if she was, she'd get mad when she would, inevitably, find out Tamaki had been flirting with the girls here.

"Of course not!" Tamaki frowned. "She's like my sister!"

"' _Like_ ' your sister, so not really your sister." Kyoya pointed out.

"She is my sister!" he corrected himself. "For all intents and purposes."

Kyoya sighed and started to get up. "Well, tell your 'sister' I said hello."

"Where are you going?" his eyes followed his friend.

"Home." He took his bag and placed his papers into it.

"You can't do that!" Tamaki protested.

"Why not?" he asked as he was almost out the door.

"Because she's already here." He showed his phone, Kyoya looked at the text message saying the person was at the fountain in the courtyard, with a smiley face.

" _Here?_ " he exclaimed. "Why did she come to the school?"

"I told her to meet me here, since her plane landed an hour ago and I knew I'd still be here."

Kyoya narrowed his eyes at Tamaki. "I have to go home." He turned back to the door.

Tamaki, seeing how Kyoya was going to leave, attempted the last resort. "It'd be rude if you were to leave before saying hello to her, since she traveled all the way from France and probably won't come back for awhile…" he said, casually. "And I'm sure she'd be upset if she didn't meet you, do you want to upset her?" he raised an eyebrow. "Miss Kaga is, after all, a lady." He casually dropped her name, holding back the smile when he saw Kyoya flinch, it was working. "You wouldn't want to upset a lady now, would you?"

Kyoya slowly turned around, glaring daggers at the manipulative boy. Kaga, he had heard his father say that name before, it was the CEO of an international corporation. The CEO had one daughter, around his age, it would be foolish if the opportunity to meet her arose and he didn't take it. "Fine." He ground out.

Tamaki smiled cheerfully and rushed out the door. "Come now, we mustn't keep her waiting!"

Kyoya reluctantly followed Tamaki into the courtyard, all the while, thinking about what to say, how she would be, if she was anything like Tamaki; she'd be difficult to talk to.

The entered the courtyard and looked to the fountain, but two boys were blocking their view. Kyoya vaguely recognized them, he and Tamaki caught a glimpse of a blonde girl standing in front of the two boys, talking to them.

"Mon Ami!" he called out.

The girl looked at them with a smile, and then said her farewell to the two boys. She ran over to them and immediately hugged Tamaki.

"Tamaki, I missed you!" she cried.

"I missed you too, Yuki!" he squeezed her tighter and then Yuki looked over to Kyoya.

"Is this your friend?" she asked and released Tamaki.

Kyoya bowed. "I am Ootori Kyoya, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." She smiled. "Any friend of Tamaki's is a friend of mine."

"Who was that?" Tamaki watched the two boys walk out the gates.

"I never got their names." She looked at them and then frowned. "But apparently I need to work on my grammar."

Kyoya noticed her accent, much like Tamaki's, but she seemed to have a bit more difficulty speaking in Japanese.

"Have you spoken Japanese long, Miss Yuki?" Kyoya asked.

"I learned some last time I came here, but that was maybe a year ago." She thought about it.

Kyoya was happy she didn't seem as… _eccentric_ as Tamaki. "And how long are you staying in Japan?"

"Five days." She nodded.

"That's not long enough!" Tamaki exclaimed.

She laughed and walked with Tamaki out the gate, Kyoya trailing slightly behind them.

He gave a hidden smirk, if he befriended the daughter of the Kaga, his father would be pleased.

"How's your dad?" Tamaki suddenly asked Yuki, catching Kyoya's attention.

She smiled. "He's fine; he's in Rome right now."

Kyoya blinked, so Kaga wasn't there? He let his thirteen year old daughter run around Japan by herself? Oh well, it wasn't his place.

He noticed Tamaki's smile falter a bit, but the girl didn't seem to notice.

"À quand remonte la dernière fois que vous l'avez vu?" He started speaking in French, Kyoya couldn't understand it but Yuki did.

She stopped and looked at him. "Laissez-le, Tamaki, il est très bien, je vais bien." She said lowly before continuing.

"Je suis désolé!" he called after her. "Yuki!" he sighed.

"What was that?" Kyoya frowned.

Tamaki smiled at him. "It was nothing, just a bit of an argument we've had before."

Kyoya didn't pry; they soon caught up with the short girl, who seemed in a better mood. "Kyoya, you're a third year, aren't you?"

Kyoya nodded. "That's right."

"Let me guess, Tamaki's a complete flirt to all the girls!" They both laughed together as Tamaki looked shocked.

"I do not know what you're talking about." He shook his head vigorously.

"I don't think you do, vous semblez le faire inconsciemment." She laughed, Kyoya laughed politely but he knew he needed to brush up on his French.

"I do not!" Tamaki blushed and pouted, Kyoya made a note to learn what she had said later.

"You do!" she laughed cheerfully. "Vous avez toujours." She smirked and raised an eyebrow.

Tamaki made a frustrated sound. "You do too!" he pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Moi?" she looked innocent."No, no, you must be mistaken, Mon ami." She shook her head. Kyoya noted that she seemed more comfortable now, enough so that she didn't mind speaking in French around him.

"What about James?" Tamaki smirked.

"What about _James_?" she parroted him slowly.

Tamaki turned to Kyoya. "James is a servant in her main house in France." He said as if Yuki wasn't there. "He's had a crush on her for as long as I can remember."

Yuki blushed a brilliant red. "He does _not_ have a crush on me!" she insisted. "We're just really good friends, like us."

"It's not like us." He shook his head with a smile. "Because we're siblings." This caused her to smile breathtakingly.

"Mm." she nodded and turned to a silent Kyoya. "And now, we're the Three Musketeers!" she grabbed Tamaki's hand and then Kyoya's. "All for one and one for all!" Tamaki cheered along as Yuki laughed and they walked out onto the streets.

* * *

Kyoya smiled fondly at the memory as his mind slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

 **Did you like this? Tamaki and Kyoya's point of view from the prologue?**

 **So, I'm updating all my stories, even the really old ones that I've just about given up on (but not yet!). I'm doing this because I probably won't update until...maybe summer break? This is because I'm behind in a few things, so I need to catch up!**

 **Special thanks to: Writer Of This Story for your review! And yeah, I'm a little biased towards Kaoru as well.**

 **So remember, you might not get an update for a bit, but don't panic! Alright, maybe you won't panic over a few updates anyway...but can't a girl dream?**


	15. Chapter 12: Silent Rebellions

"Oh, Miss Yuki!" The older woman sighed wearily as the blonde girl smiled. "What have you done this time?"

"What do you mean, Pamela?" she tilted her head innocently, her smile never faltering.

"That's the same face you made as a child when you snuck into your father's study and broke the antique rocking chair and tried to hide it." She frowned.

"Ah, what a mischievous child I was." she laughed airily.

"Miss Yuki…" she warned. "Tell me what you have done."

Yuki was silent, but her smile fell suddenly and she sighed. "I hate it here." She mumbled and uncovered the laptop hiding under her comforter on her bed.

The woman raised an eyebrow and took the device. "Didn't your father say no electronics after that stunt you pulled with his phone?"

"It was funny." She shrugged.

"It embarrassed him." Pamela bit her lip to hold back the threatening giggle.

"He deserved it." she frowned.

Pamela sobered. "I know you're angry right now, but he's doing this for your own good." She tucked the laptop under her arm and turned to leave.

"Do you really believe that?" Yuki said before Pamela disappeared out the door, she watched the older woman turn slowly. "Can you look me in the eyes and honestly say that he cares for my well-being?"

Pamela sighed and looked at the ground, then back up at Yuki. "What were you doing with the laptop, Miss Yuki?" she asked. "Contacting your friends?" the blonde nodded. "I see…" she looked at the small, silver device in her arms. "Are your friends good people?"

Yuki frowned in confusion. "Yes." She said firmly. "They are very good people."

Pamela smiled softly. "I see." She looked up at Yuki. "Then…maybe I didn't see this." She nodded to the laptop. "Maybe I walked in here and you were acting perfectly normal?"

Yuki frowned at this. "I don't understand."

"You've always been a good judge of character, Miss Yuki." She handed the laptop back to Yuki with a smile. "I'll believe you when you say these friends of your are good, I wish to meet them one day." And with a nod she left.

Yuki looked down at the laptop with a smile. "I wish you could meet them too." She whispered.

* * *

Tamaki heard a 'ping'; he quickly got his phone out and saw he had an email from Yuki. "It's her, it's her!" he waved his phone to the other Host Club members. "Yuki just emailed me."

"What'd she say?" Honey asked as they all leaned in closer in their seats, they were currently sitting in a nice café that Haruhi would never be able to afford on her own, so she just drank water.

"'Tell everyone I said hi'…" he said.

"Not very emotional…" Kaoru sighed.

"I was looking forward to some tearful, heart-wrenching, page-long, email describing how much she longs to come back." Hikaru sighed, matching his brother.

"I doubt it's torture over in France…" Haruhi said. "After all, she does live in a mansion and people wait on her twenty-four/seven."

"And it's France." Hiro nodded.

They all jumped as they looked at the dark-haired boy.

"Hiro, I didn't notice you." Haruhi said, trying to calm her heart rate,

"Because he's got such a small presence?" Kaoru asked loudly.

Hiro ignored him and instead looked to Tamaki. "Does 'everyone' include me?"

Tamaki cleared his throat and looked away from the first-year. "I'm sure it does, Hiro." He said.

"Why are you here?" Kaoru asked, a little ticked that Hiro ignored him.

"I live in the neighborhood." He rolled his eyes. "Why are _you_ here?"

"I'm out with my friends," he said simply with a light smirk. "Do you know what 'friends' are?"

"I know the gist of it…" he said, refusing to let Kaoru get to him. "Can you send her a message for me?" he asked Tamaki. "I don't have her email."

"Oh, sure." Tamaki took his phone out, oblivious to Kaoru's glare and Hikaru's weary glances. "I could just give you the email." He knew they were friends, so Yuki wouldn't mind.

"I'd like that." He smiled.

So as Tamaki was giving Hiro Yuki's email address, Kaoru was fuming and Hikaru was trying to calm him down. Hikaru wasn't even sure if Kaoru knew why he was feeling that way, but he wasn't being subtle with it, no matter how hard he tried to hold it in.

In fact, Kaoru _didn't_ know why he felt so much anger towards the other boy, just something about him irritated Kaoru beyond belief. Maybe it was the way he spoke, or the way he'd act, but something made Kaoru want Hiro to drop off the face of the planet whenever he saw him. And when Kaoru was _really_ angry, like right now for instance, he'd imagine Hiro's slow and painful death, and call it twin's intuition, but Hikaru knew exactly what Kaoru was imagining.

"Kaoru," Haruhi suddenly broke through Kaoru's morbid thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah of course, why?" Kaoru smiled innocently.

"You're sort of breaking your fork." She pointed out and Kaoru looked down to see his fork bending, almost snapping, in his tight grip.

"Ah, it would seem so…" he laughed it off but continued to hold it, all this went unnoticed to everyone but the three.

"Thanks, Suoh." Hiro said and went up to the counter to get what he originally came to get.

"You're welcome." Tamaki sat back down. "He's a good kid, isn't he?" he smiled at the table.

A snapping sound suddenly tugged everyone's attention to Kaoru, whose fork was now in two.

* * *

Yuki pinned her hair up and frowned at her appearance. Why her father insisted on her accompanying him to this dinner party was beyond her, but she could only assume it wasn't good. And he had made her wear an 'appropriate' dress, meaning it was old-fashioned, and not one of those beautiful old-styled dresses that she loved, no, this was an ugly dress even decades ago.

"You look beautiful." Her father said from the doorway.

"Oh?" she said and brushed him off.

"Like your mother." He looked around the room.

At this, Yuki froze and smiled softly. "Really?" she turned around. "Do I look like her?"

He didn't meet her eyes, it was too painful. "You do." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice but Yuki didn't seem to care.

"Thank you." She said then looked down at her outfit again. "Can I change the dress?" she begged. "Please?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why?"

"Father, this dress is hideous!" she whined, aware of the fact that she sounded like a spoiled three year old.

"Nonsense." He shook his head. "This dress never goes out of style."

"It was never _in_ style." She argued. He shot her a look saying 'don't talk back to me' and she shot him one of her own saying 'I'm old enough to dress myself'.

He finally sighed in defeat. "Very well, but not one I haven't agreed on!" he called as she rushed into her closet.

"This one!" she took out a deep red one, just the color immediately caused her father to exclaim.

"No!" he motioned for her to put it away.

She rolled her eyes and searched the closet. "This one?" she picked up a black one that stopped mid-thigh.

"My business associates will be there, please make yourself look like a _respectable_ young lady." She pouted and searched in her closet.

"Here," She held up a dress that she knew suited her quite well, he couldn't tell from it not being on somebody, but it fit her curves in a way he would not appreciate. He was skeptical about it since it was a dark purple, and it was strapless, but he also didn't want to argue with his daughter any longer, so he gave his consent.

As soon as he left, she got changed and applied makeup, _dark_ makeup. This was her silent rebellion, hoping to look dark and mysterious, not 'respectable'…although respectable might be a good thing too, but it was too late now, the makeup was already applied.

She had burgundy lipstick, which caused her to be a little uneasy since she wasn't used to dark lipstick…or any dark makeup for that matter, she usually stuck with little to no makeup or only natural colors…this was a first for her. She gave herself cat eyes and laughed at how unnatural she looked, like a French model straight out of a magazine.

She sighed and leaned back after she was done; taking in her drawn-in eyebrows and rouged cheeks, super long eyelashes and dark eyeliner. Surely, if she was back in Japan, everyone would laugh at her.

She heard her father knock on the door and when he came he immediately glared at her. "I said respectable."

"Am I not?" she faked innocence.

"Let's just go." He opened the door wider for her.

She checked her updo and saw not a hair out of place. She smiled and walked past her grumbling father and down the stairs. She winked mischievously at a gaping James and Pamela, luckily her father didn't notice.

"What happened to you?" James looked at her.

"Some sort of bad influence in Japan?" Pamela raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, Pamela?" Yuki smirked, and then she leaned in to whisper. "Do you think a leather jacket would go with this?"

"Please don't, you'd give your poor father a heart attack." Pamela sighed.

"Come on." Her father called from the door.

"I'm getting my coat." She said. "Leather jacket or no?"

James sighed and pulled out his leather jacket. "Here, take mine."

"It's too big…" she said as she put it on and the sleeves went past her hands.

"You won't be wearing it all the time." He rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, you're a doll." She smirked.

"I know." He smiled.

"Yuki!" her father called.

"Coming!" she started to the door. "See you guys later." She waved at Pamela and James.

Once she and her father were out the door, Pamela smirked knowingly at James.

"What?" he sighed, sensing her looking at him.

"Nothing." She looked away with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It's just, she'll be wearing a man's leather jacket through the evening, a jacket everyone knows her father wouldn't wear…" she trailed off.

"So?" he narrowed his eyes.

"So…it'll look like a man gave it to her," she said, and sighed when she saw his confused look. "It's basically a sign that she's taken." James looked mortified.

"What?" he exclaimed. "I-I didn't mean…" he shook his head.

"I'm sure she doesn't realize it, that's what matters, besides, it'll repel most men, so you don't have anything to worry about."

"Why would I worry?" he scoffed.

Pamela gave a look. "Because you've loved her since you were children." He blushed slightly and looked away, but he didn't deny it and Pamela smirked in satisfaction. "But, I know she has friends in Japan… _male_ friends." She said. "You might have something to worry about after all."

"I shouldn't worry, nothing's going to happen anyway." He said, with a hint of disappointment.

"James, you are so pessimistic." She sighed and shook her head.

"No, I'm a realist," he corrected. "I mean, look at the situation, _really_ looked at it, it'll never happen."

"Never say never, James." She smiled.

"And I'm not in love with her," he said. "It's more of a…crush." He shook his head. "A stupid, pointless crush."

Pamela sighed as she watched James leave the room. Truth be told, she had always thought James would end up with Yuki, but now…he wasn't really trying, and he had more competition than he did when they were children, she wasn't sure now who'd win Yuki's heart.

* * *

 **Well that break didn't last as long as I'd thought...but oh well! I love updating and seeing everyone's thoughts on this story.**

 **Special thanks to Writer Of This Story for their review! But not many people have been reviewing lately and I'm getting worried, please tell me what you think and if I'm doing something you think might be wrong! I'd appreciate constructive-criticism or anything!**

 **Also, if you go back to the Christmas Special, you'll see I changed the name of the boy in the photograph of Tamaki and Yuki, slight blip on my part. Sorry.**

 **Well, that's all I have to say for now! Thank you for reading, bye bye! :3**


	16. Chapter 13: The Grady's Party

Yuki got out of the car, her father followed suit. She stared at the large mansion, the Grady's had always been close friends of her father's, so she knew them and their daughters well, but this dinner party was something she wasn't looking forward to. "Adelaide!" the older man had his arms open for a hug. "My, how you've…grown." He looked skeptically at her dress and dark makeup.

Her father shook his head with a sigh. "Hasn't she?" he faked a smile but sent a glare at her.

"It's good to see you, Mr. Grady." Her smile was as fake as her father's but they were both good actors.

"But as polite as ever." His smile returned. "It's good to see you too, Adelaide."

"Oh, please call me Yuki." She gave a fake smile again.

He nodded and went to greet her father; she sighed in relief and went into the large house.

"Yuki!" the Grady's youngest daughter screeched and ran up to her; most people Yuki met during her childhood had already been known to call her Yuki. "Oh, it's so good to see you again, I can't believe you're here, wow you look amazing!" and on and on it went, Yuki smiled and nodded occasionally as the girl talked and talked. She honestly didn't mind the girl, she was sweet and lonely, and the poor thing didn't have many friends her age.

"Lucy, can't you see you're talking her ear off?" the oldest daughter, Jen, came up.

Lucy smiled bashfully. "I'm sorry, Yuki, I got carried away."

"It's alright." She nodded. "I'm sure you have a lot to tell me, I haven't seen you two in years now." This made Lucy smile brightly again.

"I do, I have so much to tell you."

"Now you've done it, Yuki." Jen smiled wearily. "You've awoken a beast…"

"Oh trust me, I've seen worse." She smiled, thinking of how Tamaki would always talk about nothing, she quite missed it…

"Tell me all about where you've been these past years." Jen said as she dragged Yuki away to the balcony, all this going unnoticed by the talking girl.

"Well… I visited Rome that one time, then I lived in Germany for awhile, oh, and England…" she sighed, remembering those fun times.

"Oh, I meant Japan." The older girl raised her eyebrow suggestively. "I've heard that you've got a few admirers there."

"How on earth did you hear that?" she shook her head. "Well, anyway, your information's wrong."

She smirked. "Is it?" she then showed off her dress. "Do you like it?" she asked and twirled around.

"I do, it's very beautiful." Yuki smiled airily, not really understanding the sudden change.

"It's from Hitachiin Fashions, their newest model…" she said, smirking when she saw Yuki flinch.

She forgot that Kaoru and Hikaru's mother ran a fashion business. "Really now?" she asked. "I must say, they did a wonderful job."

"Yes they did…" she said flatly. "You know, I had the pleasure of meeting them when I went in to get measurements, Daddy knows the CEO personally, seeing as he's done business with both her and her husband." She acted so casual, but enjoyed every awkward movement Yuki did, it wasn't often she was awkward. "I met their sons, what was it…?" she thought about it. "Hikaru and Kaoru?" Another flinch. "Yes that was it, my, what flirts." She smiled as Yuki looked away, towards the starry sky. "But so very, _very_ charming, I could understand it if a girl happened to…accidentally…fall in love with one of them?"

Now Yuki was fully aware of what Jen was doing, she knew that Yuki knew them. "Yes, I've had the pleasure of meeting them as well, and it wouldn't surprise me if someone were to like them like that." She smiled smoothly.

"Love them?" she asked, raising a perfect eyebrow again. "I said 'love', didn't I?"

Yuki felt her face twitch. "Yes, yes; 'love' them." she waved it off. "But they're such flirts; I doubt they could ever be monogamous."

"I'm sure, if they found the right one, they could indeed fall in love with that person and that person only."

"Hmm…" she hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose if you found the ' _right one_ ', anyone could stay true." She leaned against the railing on the balcony.

"And what if…say…one of these twins found the 'right one'?" she asked and leaned against the wall opposite of Yuki, but still had a full view of her face.

"Then I'd be happy." She smiled sincerely. "Because it'd be wonderful to find that."

"I suppose so." Jen smiled back. "What were their names again?" she asked, even though she already knew it.

"Kaoru and Hikaru." She answered automatically.

Jen smirked. "Ah, yes, that was it…"

"I should be getting back inside; it was great seeing you again, Jen." Yuki smiled brightly and walked back indoors.

Jen looked up, her head hitting the wall gently. "I don't even think you know you said 'Kaoru' first…" she mumbled to no one.

Back inside, Yuki was walking around; her Jacket was put up with the others since it was relatively warm inside.

"Hello there," a boy, a bit older than her, came up. "You're one of the Kaga's, right?" he asked.

She nodded; something about him put her off. "Yes, I'm Yuki," she extended her hand, and much to her surprise; he knelt down and kissed it.

"My name is Raphael Accursio." He smirked. "It's a pleasure."

She subtlety retracted her hand with a forced smile. "No, the pleasures all mine."

He got up. "You have a beautiful smile, had anyone ever told you that?" he asked.

"Yes." She said dully. "I've been told." She didn't like him, right off the bat, she wanted him to go away.

"Might I be so bold as to ask you for this dance?" he was too confident as he reached out for her hand.

Yuki was about to decline, when she saw her father looking straight at her, as if urging her to accept. He must have been from a rich family then… "Why not…?" she gave a half-hearted shrug and accepted his hand.

As they danced gracefully across the floor, Yuki was looking away as Raphael looked right at her; he was too close in her opinion. "You are an excellent dancer, Miss Yuki." He said.

"Thank you, you're not bad yourself…" there was a bad taste in her mouth from complimenting him.

"Yes, I take pride in it." he smiled, irking Yuki even more.

* * *

"My heart aches…" Tamaki said dramatically.

"He's still going through withdrawal?" Hikaru asked as they walked into the Club room.

"I'd figure he would have gotten a bit better…" Haruhi said. "How's Kaoru?" she asked Hikaru in a whisper, so the other twin, who was busy reading in the corner, wouldn't hear.

"Look at him…" Hikaru frowned in concern. "Have you ever seen him read willingly?" he asked. "Let alone in a sad little corner?"

Haruhi sighed and shook her head.

"Kao-chan misses Yu-chan…" Honey said to Mori, who nodded in agreement. "But I can't tell who misses her more."

"Honey-sempai?" Haruhi looked at the small blonde.

"Well, Tama-chan misses her like a brother, but Kao-chan misses her like a boyfriend." He explained.

"Yeah…I knew it." Hikaru said, it was still weird for someone to say it out loud though. His little brother definitely liked Yuki, that much was certain, but whether he knew it himself was still unknown, along with whether Yuki liked him back.

"This isn't like us!" Tamaki suddenly jumped up and had a determined face on.

"What do you mean, Tono?" Kaoru looked up.

"We're men of action!" he declared, then looked at Haruhi. "…And also woman of action…" he added as an afterthought, causing Haruhi to roll her eyes. "And we don't just sit around and cry about things."

"You do that all the time." Hikaru frowned in confusion.

Tamaki glared at him but decided to ignore his remark. "We must go get Yuki."

Kyoya suddenly pulled him aside. "Might I remind you, Miss Yuki's house is close to your mother's."

Tamaki looked crestfallen. "I know, that's why you have to go in my place."

Kyoya blinked but sighed in defeat. "I suppose I can't say no."

"But doesn't this seem like more of a family matter?" Haruhi asked. "Shouldn't we trust Yuki to come back if she can?"

A silence fell over them as they thought about what she had said.

"Maybe…as a last resort, we can fly to France." Kaoru finally spoke up.

"But, still wait for her to make her decision…" Hikaru nodded.

"I have no doubt she'll pick here." Tamaki said confidently. "I know her; she hates the social gatherings her father takes her to and most of his friends…"

* * *

Actually, Yuki was, at that moment, catching her breath from running all the way to the garden.

"Damn you, Raphael…" she muttered under her breath. "I'm not meant to run in heels." She slipped her uncomfortable shoes off and held them in her hands, then slid on James's jacket. She figured she'd just stay here until the party was over, and who knew when that was?

She sighed and plopped down on a stone bench that was underneath a cherry tree. She smiled at the familiarity of the tree and set her shoes on the bench than ran off and climbed up a rather large oak tree, suddenly in the mood for climbing.

It was difficult in the dress; she wished she had brought a separate pair of clothes. But eventually, she managed and sat high up in the tree, breathing in the crisp air and listening to the trees move in the breeze.

She closed her eyes and let every noise surround her…she felt homesick. But…wasn't France her home? Hadn't it always been her home? Maybe she just missed Tamaki, or the rest of the Host Club.

No, that wasn't it.

She missed them, sure, but there was something in Japan that made her want to stay there, something that felt like home.

What is it?

Oh, but it is important. So important that wherever it went, she wanted to be there. Was it somebody?

Her thoughts were stopped when she heard a branch snap beneath the tree she was in.

"Miss Yuki?" a familiar accented voice called held back a groan, Raphael had found her. She stayed as still as possible, hoping he didn't look up, however she did turn just enough to be able to watch him. "I found your shoes." He held up the heeled shoes in his hand. "You might not want to lose them." he smiled, but when there was no answer, he sighed. "Guess you're not out here…" then, much to Yuki's dismay, instead of leaving, leaned against the tree and lit a cigarette. "Well then, there's no one to catch me with these." He laughed joyfully, she assumed he had been yearning for a cigarette all night but was not allowed to have one.

Yuki sighed quietly and swung her arm over the branch to her more comfortable; by the looks of it she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, Raphael had just pulled out his phone.

* * *

"Yep?" James picked up his phone, holding it between his ear and shoulder since his hands were busy cooking dinner for himself and the other servants.

"Oh, hello, is Yuki there?" Tamaki asked over it.

James sighed. "No, she went to a ball with Master Kaga." He answered. "They probably won't be back until later."

There was some muffled speaking before Tamaki spoke again. "Okay then…um, did she happen to mention if she wants to stay there?" he asked.

James dropped the pot into the sink with a clatter, his eyes narrowed. "What're you planning, Master Tamaki?"

"O-Oh, nothing!" Tamaki exclaimed, James swore he heard someone in the background curse at Tamaki's ' _subtleness_ '. "I…you know, just want to be kept informed." He cleared his throat.

"Uh-huh." James said incredulously as he wiped his hands off and when they were dry, he held the phone again in his hand and leaned against the counter. "Master Kaga's not going to let you just run off with her."

There was a pause. "I know, and I'm sure she knows too…"

James was sure Tamaki didn't want to finish that sentence, so he finished it for him. "If she chooses to stay in Japan, Master Kaga may not want to be in her life anymore."

* * *

 **I'm soooo sorry, it's been so long since my last update, I've been busy with a summer job and what not...but that's no excuse, I've also had writer's block on the chapter after this...so my next update might be late as well.**

 **But I'm going to finish this story, rest assured. I will not abandon it!**

 **Special thanks to: Writer Of This Story, Guest, and (Even though it was on the first chapter) ihatemyself420, for their fantabulous reviews!**

 **Don't forget to review! And have a wonderful, extra special day, cause you deserve it!**


	17. Chapter 14: A Secret Alliance

Yuki struggled to keep her eyes open as Raphael continued to talk on the phone, arguing with someone in a foreign language.

She didn't want to move since he might hear her. She rolled her eyes when she heard him curse because the other person had hung up in his face. He looked around and with a sigh, hope sparked in her, that maybe he was going inside, but instead he just placed the phone back in his pocket and took out another cigarette, how many was that now? Probably his third or so…

Those things will kill him.

"Raphael!" a voice suddenly called.

His head jerked upward and he quickly put out the cigarette and gave an obviously fake grin.

"Yes, father?" he asked.

"Get back in here, people are wondering where you've gotten to." The older man barked, and then frowned slightly. "Do I smell cigarettes?"

Raphael was wise enough to keep silent, Yuki held back a giggle.

"Never mind," the father sighed. "Just get back in there." Raphael ducked his head down and passed his father.

Yuki stared at them go, happy that she could move, but then her foot slipped slightly, causing the leaves to rustle.

Raphael's father's head whipped around and he stared off into the distance.

Yuki held her breath and watched as he moved slightly closer.

"Who's there?" he called out. She squeezed her eyes shut as he came closer. "Hello?" then he shook his head, deciding it must have just been some small animal and that the party inside was of more import.

Yuki let out her breath when he was safely away, then scooted up on the branch and rested, calming her racing heart. She should probably go inside soon. So she grabbed hold of the branch nearest to her and started to carefully inch her way closer to the ground, but the branch she had set her foot on was too weak and broke, causing her to tumble to the ground.

"Ow…" she rubbed her head where it had hit the ground, a bump was already forming.

She sighed and looked around, the moonlight had caused everything to look a little eerie, but somehow beautiful at the same time.

She stood up and brushed herself off; Raphael had left her shoes by the tree, thankfully.

She slipped them on and hurried back to the large house. Once inside, she looked around for someone she knew. And just her luck, her father was looking right at her.

"Where have you been?" he asked harshly and gripped her arm, pulling her aside.

"Outside." She said, her eyes were slightly wide from how tight his grip was.

He inspected her carefully, and then pulled a twig out of her hair, causing her to wince when his hand brushed against the bump from her fall. He didn't notice, but held the twig out in front of her face.

"We're leaving, I'll deal with you later." He said, pulling her towards the doors. "I had hoped you might find a husband here, and then maybe you'd forget about your rebellious phase and those horrid friends of yours."

The words hurt her more than she thought they would, but instead of arguing like she had been lately…she hung her head low in shame and allowed him to drag her outside.

This was how it had always been, why should she change anything now? Her father wouldn't listen to her, and maybe he was right. Maybe it was just some rebellious phase that she'll grow out of. But she didn't want to grow out of it.

"When we get home, you'll dye that dreadful red out of your hair." He decided as their car pulled in front of them. "Get in; I'll be back in a minute." He shut the car door and she saw his back retreating.

She figured he had to tell some people he was leaving, he still had those responsibilities. She leaned back in her seat with a heavy sigh and her brows creased. She glanced at the driver in the rear-view mirror, he was looking at her with what resembled pity. She looked away; she didn't want anyone to pity her.

She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. She wanted to go back to Japan, with all her heart. But she was weak. She didn't think she'd be able to ask her father if she could go back.

A knock on the window made her jump; Jen was smiling at her and waved. She gestured for Yuki to open the door. She did and Jen immediately pulled her out.

"What…?" she questioned.

"I heard you were leaving and had to come say goodbye." She hugged her.

Yuki froze for a second before hugging her back. "I'll miss you Jen."

"I'll miss you too, Yuki." She said and pulled back. "Because I know the next time I'll see you, it's going to be in Japan."

Yuki smiled. "Yeah." She nodded.

Jen leaned in and whispered into Yuki's ear. "And tell those Hitachiin twins that I said 'hi', okay?" she grinned. "They were pretty hot."

Yuki laughed. "Will do." She saluted.

Jen smiled at how adorable Yuki was, in that brief moment that she was as Jen remembered her. Carefree and _so cute_! She just wanted to pinch Yuki's cheeks and rub their noses, even when Yuki looked so dark and mysterious with the makeup and dress, she was utterly adorable.

"Goodbye, Jennifer Grady." She smiled.

"Goodbye, Adelaide Yuki Kaga." They laughed as Yuki got back in the car.

Jen walked away, only making it halfway up the steps when Mr. Kaga brushed past her and went to his car. She watched as they drove off. She knew that he loved his daughter, but his way of expressing it was bad, if he even _was_ trying to express it.

She pulled out her phone and stared at the contacts list, one contact to be specific. She sighed and pressed 'call'. She heard it ringing, and then someone picked up.

"Hello?" the familiar voice said.

"Hello, I'm not sure if you remember me, Jennifer Grady?" she bit her lip, slipping into Japanese quite awkwardly.

"Ah, yes," there was a smile in his voice. "Hello Miss Grady, how have you been?"

"I've been good, you?" she hated small talk, but she couldn't help but stall a bit.

"Great," he replied. "Was the dress to your liking?"

"Yes yes, it was perfect." She nodded.

"Then, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

She sucked in a breath and stared at where Yuki's car had disappeared down the road. "I need a favor, Mr. Hitachiin and I'm sure you'll be happy to comply."

* * *

"And what is the nature of this favor?" the ginger boy leaned back in the comfortable couch, his friends talking around him, his brother sitting next to him.

"The nature…" Jennifer Grady's accented voice trailed off, as if she was thinking about it. "You're friends with Yuki Kaga, correct?" she asked.

A frown rested on his features. "Yes, that's right."

"I'd like to help her get back to Japan, do you wish to as well?" she asked.

His back straightened and he glanced to his younger twin who was giving him an odd look. "I would like to very much." He said sincerely.

"She wants to go back, believe me when I say that." She insisted. "But she doesn't have the courage to speak with her father about it."

"I know." He sighed. "I take it you're friends with her as well?"

"Close friends, in fact, she just left my house." She said.

"Hikaru?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow, wondering who his twin was talking to.

"Then tell me, Miss Grady, what do you plan we do?" he asked her. "Talk to her father, maybe?" he said.

There was a brief pause. "Have you met him?" she scoffed. "No, no way." She said.

"Then what?" he asked.

"We can influence the situation, maybe just a bit." She said.

"Assuring that she comes back to Japan?" Hikaru smiled. "I like your way of thinking, Ms. Grady."

"Thank you, Mr. Hitachiin." He heard her smile.

"Will that be all?" he asked.

"Yes, I'll be in touch." She hung up.

He put his phone back into his pocket.

"Who was that?" Kaoru asked.

Hikaru looked at his younger twin, should he tell him? He didn't like keeping a secret from him, but he wasn't sure that Kaoru would approve, Yuki made him a bit unpredictable, even to Hikaru.

"No one of importance." He shrugged.

Kaoru frowned, he knew Hikaru was keeping something…what was it?

* * *

 **Yeah, yeah, I know it's been forever...I thought my excuse would be writer's block, then I found out I was a few chapter ahead...I did not know this.**

 **So yeah, I guess I'm just a horrible person for not even checking to see where I was at in the story and how much I had actually published.**

 **Special thanks to: NomNomNomNomYUM and Guest for their reviews!**

 **You'll be seeing a lot more of this story in the next week or so (maybe only a few chapter thought), so look forward to that!**

 **Also, just want to say...we reached 100 followers on this story! Yay!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review!**


	18. Chapter 15: A Good Sign

"I'm glad she's gone," Deer said, a smile resting on her face. "The Hosts have been a bit more attentive."

"Of course, their distraction isn't even in the country anymore." Cat smirked.

"Why did she move?" Mouse asked in a hushed tone, after Yuki had caught them that one time, she had been more discreet, the same couldn't have been said for the others though, if anything, they had been even bolder."I heard her father came to pick her up, but why?"

"Maybe he knew what she was doing with the Host Club, leading them on…oh, poor Tamaki." Deer shook her head.

"Poor twins." Cat said. "And Haruhi, what damage she must have done!"

"I still can't believe they let her do that." Deer said.

"Shush, here they come." Mouse looked over to the doorway of the cafeteria.

"Oh my God!" one girl screamed.

"It's the Host Club!" another one said.

"Tamaki, what are you doing here?" a brave girl asked.

Tamaki gave a weak smile. "I need to eat something, you know?" he laughed.

"But I heard you were in sick bay." She said.

"What?" the other girls screeched.

"Are you okay?" they hurried to him.

"Give him space!" Honey said cutely. "He's still healing."

"I'm fine, really." Tamaki raised his hands. "I just haven't been feeling well lately."

Haruhi glanced at Tamaki, sighing as he got swarmed with worried girls. She then looked to the twins, they were already sitting down, not waiting for the others. They were speaking in whispers, a frown on both faces. "Hikaru? Kaoru?" She tilted her head and she set her lunch box by their trays full of expensive food. "What's wrong?"

Kaoru looked over to her and swallowed. "Nothing." He looked away and rested his chin on his hand.

Hikaru sighed. "It's really nothing to worry about, Kaoru." He said. Kaoru stayed silent.

Haruhi blinked, were they fighting? Hikaru's face showed concern and Kaoru's showed betrayal. They sighed in unison and Hikaru picked at his food, Kaoru simply glanced at it and pushed it away.

"You're not eating?" Kyoya came up and stood behind them, but they didn't even glance at him.

"I think they're in a bad mood." Haruhi told him.

The twins gave each other a side-glance but then huffed and turned away.

Haruhi shook her head. "Yuki not being here must be weighing on them." she told Kyoya.

"They did get pretty attached to her." He commented, causing Kaoru to blush slightly and Hikaru to smirk at him.

"Or at least one of us did." Hikaru mumbled, causing Kaoru to whip his head around to face him.

"What's that mean?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"It means you like her." Hiro said plainly, suddenly beside them as well.

Kaoru glared at him. "This doesn't concern you!" he said and turned away.

"That's why you don't like me, because I like her too." He said, staring blankly at his food. Haruhi and Hikaru were surprised by Hiro's forwardness.

"I don't like you because you're an arrogant ass that only cares for himself, and the fact that you play with girls' emotions just for your own amusement." Kaoru bit back at him.

Hiro looked up and stared at him incredulously. "Isn't that what you do?"

Kaoru's eyes widened, Hiro was right…for once. Who was he to say that to him? Does that make him a hypocrite? But he never played with Yuki's emotions; he didn't think he ever could. "And besides," Hiro continued. "I don't play with girls' emotions, I genuinely like Yuki."

Kaoru frowned and looked around the table, when had Haruhi and Hikaru run off? They were alone…

"Do you?" Hiro asked. "Genuinely like her, I mean?"

Kaoru looked down, did he? Is that what this was? No, no it couldn't be…he didn't like Yuki. "No, I like her as a friend." He finally answered. "Do what you wish, Hiro, I don't care." He shrugged, reverting back to his impassiveness.

Hiro narrowed his eyes at him. "Then I will, and when you have that clawing feeling in your gut because you see me with her…it'll be your own fault."

Kaoru looked to him, as he got up and left, leaving Kaoru alone. Did he like Yuki like that? No, of course not, but over a short time she had become as important to him as the rest of the Host Club. She was his friend, and he would fight for her. He buried his blushing face into his hands as he imagined a clichéd scenario, him holding a sword as he put his arm protectively around a worried looking Yuki…oh no. He groaned and looked down at his food, he really wasn't hungry anymore.

* * *

Yuki smiled as the breeze went through her hair, her hair was solid blonde now…it kind of made her sad when she looked in the mirror. At least her father hadn't been home today, so she could really do whatever she wished. She decided against a skirt or dress and went with loose, roll-up jeans shorts, an orange T-shirt with a golden-eyed cat on it, and a pair of black, ankle-length Converses. Her hair flowed freely behind her in the ponytail. As she neared a hill, she kicked up her feet off the pedals on her bike, and let the wheels go faster and faster downhill, she laughed gleefully. She was on her way to an old friend's house, someone she hadn't seen in a long while. She neared the secluded house and quickly hopped off her bike, parking it by some bushes.

"Adelaide?" a soft, melodic voice called out and Yuki turned around and saw the beautiful blonde woman standing in front the rose bushes.

"Anne-Sophie?" Yuki smiled warmly. "It's good to see you again."

"Oh…" she covered her mouth to prevent sobs. "You've grown so much."

Yuki tilted her head and gave Anne-Sophie a sympathetic look. "I know, I'm sorry I haven't seen you in awhile."

"It's fine." She waved it off. "How are you?" she asked as she walked over and grabbed Yuki's hands.

"I'm good." She smiled. "Tamaki's good too." She said, knowing Anne-Sophie would want to know.

Her eyes widened in panic. "Is…is he here?" she looked around.

"No, he's still in Japan." She said sadly.

Anne-Sophie looked down at her, a pang of sadness going through her heart at Yuki's face. "And, why aren't you?" she asked.

"Father took me back, he said he didn't want me around Tamaki anymore…or the friends I had made there." She smiled sadly and looked away.

Anne-Sophie brought Yuki in for a hug and gripped her tight. "I'm sure it's okay, you'll see them again soon."

And suddenly, the dam broke, the tears that she had been keeping inside started coming out in sobs that racked her body, she clung to Anne-Sophie's jacket.

"There, there, dear." She patted Yuki's head. "It'll all be alright."

"No…" Yuki sniffed and looked up from Anne-Sophie's now damp jacket. "It won't, I'm too weak to stand up to my father alone, and I'll probably never see them again."

Anne-Sophie smiled gently. "But you are not alone, Adelaide." She held her at arm's length. "You have all your friends, and you have Tamaki, they'll be there for you."

Yuki stared at the woman that had been like a mother figure to her. "What can they do?" she whispered.

"So much more than you think, as long as they care for you." She smiled gently.

Yuki smiled back, but it was more forced. Did they care about her? Enough to do this for her? She knew they cared, but that much? She swallowed. "Father will be back soon, Anne-Sophie, I'm sorry." She backed away. "I just wanted to see you again."

"Thank you for coming, Yuki, it means a lot." She nodded. "I hope you find your happiness."

"I do too." She smiled, ignoring the image of a certain ginger that came to mind.

"Goodbye, and be safe." Anne-Sophie waved as Yuki got back on her bike and headed out.

* * *

The moonlight shone in through the windows and light up the otherwise dark room, letting the girl in the large bed be able to see...since she was already wide awake. Tomorrow…tomorrow, she'd ask him. She had stood in the mirror for hours after she had gotten back from Anne-Sophie's, just rehearsing what to say to him. She didn't want to stay here, the wall's may have echoed the laughter that once filled the large house, but that was when she was little, she didn't realize that her father was never the one to laugh, it was always her…she'd laugh just to fill the void.

She sat up in her bed and pulled out her phone, dialing James's number. Her father had deleted all the Host Club members' numbers. After several rings, James finally answered in a groggy, sleep-filled voice. "Hello?"

"James, can you patch me through to Tamaki?"

She heard a sigh. "Fine." He grumbled and there was a long pause before the familiar voice shouted.

"Yuki?" Tamaki screeched, causing her to wince and hold the phone away from her ear.

"H-Hello, Tamaki." She smiled. "It's good to hear your voice again." She heard nothing until a loud sniffle let her know he was probably a blubbering mess at that moment.

"I-I-I miss you!" he wailed.

"I miss you too." She cried. "And…I'll be talking to Father tomorrow." There was another pause before she heard him gasp.

"You mean…?"

"I suppose I'll either never get a chance to see or speak to you again, or never get a chance to see or speak to him." She whimpered. "But that's okay, I have to do something…I can't just sit back and allow him to make such wrong decisions."

"Yuki…" he sighed. "I'm glad you know the risks of this, but…are you sure?"

"It will hurt…if I don't see him anymore because he hates me for wanting to stay in Japan…but if that's what he chooses to do, I don't want to see him." She closed her eyes, trying not to cry. Her heart felt constricted, the thought of speaking to her father about staying in Japan made her nervous and she didn't want to do it…but she didn't want to cower anymore. She needed to tell him what she wanted.

"It'll all be alright, Yuki, don't forget that." She could hear his smile. "And know that we're all here for you."

She gave a small chuckle. "That's what your mother told me." There was another pause, but she could almost _feel_ his warm smile, she knew him too well.

"I have to go now…" his voice broke. "I'll tell everyone you called; they're all missing you a lot."

"Tell them I said 'hi', okay?" she smiled.

"I'll be sure to." He said sincerely. "And Yuki, I love you very much."

"I love you too, Tama-chan." She grinned as a few tears escaped.

The line went dead and she set her phone down on her bed and tucked her knees up to her chest, placing her face into her hands as she allowed the sobs to take over, racking her body. She was unaware of the presence at her door, peering in through the small gap where the door wasn't shut all the way.

* * *

The next day, Yuki woke up at the foot of her bed, her eyes were heavy and she couldn't remember what had happened…but when she got up and looked in the mirror, seeing the dried tear streaks on her cheeks and the puffy redness in her eyes…she remembered.

She sighed and tried to tame her messy hair, she ran a brush through it, feeling slightly sad at the solid blonde color…no streak of color. She finally put it in a ballerina bun and put in diamond teardrop earrings. She clipped on a diamond necklace and applied her makeup to cover the puffiness and make her look dignified.

She went into her closet and picked out and white, short-sleeved, button-up blouse with puffed sleeves and a black flowing skirt that stopped at her knees. She put on black heels and her mother's silver ring that was one of the only things she had gotten as an heirloom from the late Belrose.

She closed her eyes and prepared herself. He would be in his office by now…she'd be interrupting his work. She shivered at the thought. So many times, he had drilled it into her skull _not to interrupt him in his office_. Even if it was just to show him her artwork she had drawn or painted.

She pinched her cheeks because the blush she had applied didn't seem to be working; her face was as pale as a ghost. She finally stood from her chair and headed towards the door, hesitating when her hand reached out for the doorknob. She knew other people might think she was being ridiculous, that she should just go ahead and do it, but it was like something was blocking her mentally from leaving her room.

She took a deep breath and quickly threw the door open. Marching down the beautifully decorated hallways, she stared straight ahead…not daring to distract herself, even as Pamela called her name when she saw the young girl walking past her.

"Father!" she opened the double doors forcefully and shouted, not caring whether he was on the phone. But she paused when, to her surprise, he was simply sitting in his comfortable chair, his desk completely void of his laptop, phone, or any other electronics. His eyes found hers and she froze in her place, all confidence left her body.

"Yuki." He said, just that…just her name, and she could have sworn that his voice sounded conflicted.

"Father…" she looked behind her and saw Pamela standing out in at the end of the hall, clearly listening in. She walked fully in and closed the door behind her, a frown on her face.

"You look nice." He said. "A respectable young lady."

"Thank you." She nodded. "May I take a seat?" she was still confused by him, why was he so calm? Why had he just been sitting there? It was almost as if he had been expecting her.

"Of course." He gestured to the two seats facing each other by the fireplace. He got up and moved over to one as Yuki sat in the other. There was an uncomfortable silence as she watched her father sit completely relaxed, his hand covered his mouth and his elbow rested on the armrest, supporting his head as he watched the flickering flames with disinterest.

After the tension became too much for her, she started to speak. "Father, I-" she began, but one glance from his cold eyes stopped her from continuing her outburst.

His eyes went back to the fireplace and he sighed. "You're wearing your mother's ring…" he said, his voice was low and sounded tired.

Her eyes widened and she glanced down at her hand. "Yes, I am." She said.

"You never wear it." he said, not looking at her.

"Only on special occasions." She said, looking at the bookshelf on the other side of the room.

"And this is special?" he finally turned his head to look at her.

She looked at him as well, their eyes meeting. "I needed it for strength." She said truthfully. He was silent for a moment.

"Why would _you_ need strength?" She chose not to answer, he knew. But why ask? After a beat, he shook his head with a soft chuckle. It took her by surprise, when was the last time he had laughed. "You don't need any more strength, Yuki, in fact you have too much of it in my opinion." He said, noticing her confused stare. "That's what I've been trying to take away…you're stubborn and young…those aren't a good combination." She stayed silent, choosing simply to watch his expression turn wistful. "You're so much like your mother." He whispered. "So much that it hurts to look at you, to watch you enjoy your youth and run around with boys…but I've realized my mistake."

"Mistake?" she repeated.

"Yes, I've tried to keep you sheltered and away from society, but I realize now that all I'm doing is pushing you more towards It." he sighed. "Every time I tell you not to do something, it just makes you want to do that even more, right?" She looked away, knowing he was right. "And so, Yuki, tell me why you've come here?" he asked. "Why have you built the nerve to burst into my office in the morning?"

She swallowed, knowing this was it, now or never. "I wish to spend the rest of my high school years at Ouran, in Japan with the Host Club." He sighed. "I know you disapprove of them, I probably would too…but they're my friends, and they're good people."

He looked away. "I knew you'd ask that…I know you love them dearly." He said, a moment passed and she wasn't sure what he was thinking. "I'll accept your request…on one condition."

Her face lit up. "Anything." She said breathlessly.

He smiled, a genuine smile, for the first time in years. "You make sure to stay in touch, I want us to get to know each other better and perhaps fix this…I've been thinking about Celine the past couple hours, I try never to think about her." Yuki looked down; she knew he always preferred not to remember his late wife, her mother. She looked back up and finally noticed the slight dark circles around his eyes. How long had he been awake? Had he slept at all last night? "I know she'd want to give you the world, not keep you from It." he said. "So I'll try to give you what I expect she would, and if you believe those boys are good, I'll trust your judgment."

"Thank you…" she smiled, and finally worked up the courage to ask what she had wanted to ask for as long as she could remember. "What was she like?"

He looked at her, his eyes wide and lost, she knew it must have been a long time since he allowed that much emotion in all at once. Maybe it hadn't been the best time to ask. Just as she had started to take back the question, he spoke.

"She was beautiful…" he said, his voice broken. She gulped; it was so weird to know that that voice was coming from the same man that had always been completely impassive her entire life. "She was kind and caring. Everyone loved her, they all went to her if they had problems, and she would help them. She was always smiling, and always happy…completely adorable." He smiled and leaned back in his chair. "At least, that's what I always thought."

"Adorable?" she smiled at the word; she never thought she would hear her father using that to describe anyone.

"Yes, I was utterly fascinated by her, completely entranced." He shook his head. "When we had you…it made me so happy to watch her when she looked at you, always with such devotion and love."

"She loved me?" Yuki grinned, tears starting to fill her eyes, why had she become so emotional the last few weeks?

"Absolutely, she loved you more than anything…" he smiled. "…loved you more than life itself."

Yuki couldn't control the overwhelming emotion. She covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the sobs…she had cried too much already. When she sniffed and opened her eyes again, she found her father looking at her. His eyes were, for once, not cold…they were warm and filled with tears as well.

"You remind me so much of her," he said and got up from his seat and walked towards her, kneeling down in front of her chair. "I never want you to be hurt, Yuki, don't ever get hurt." He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, one hand resting on the back of her head and the other around her shoulders. She could feel him shaking slightly…he was crying. She lifted her arms and clutched his back.

"I won't…Daddy." She finally broke down and started crying into his shirt as he held her tighter. Both were too engrossed in their hug to notice the two people peeking in from the door.

"Oh…" Pamela sniffed as tears streamed down her face. "It's so beautiful."

"Yeah…" James smiled, happy for his childhood friend. "For once, I agree with you."

"I'll certainly miss her around here though." Pamela sighed as they closed the door.

"She'll visit, especially if they're trying to fix their relationship." He said.

"There's so much to fix, though…" she said and they started walking back to the foyer.

"It's the Kaga family, they'll breeze through it in no time." He shrugged with a confident smile.

"Maybe you're right…" Pamela smiled. "And maybe we'll get to see some of her friends from Japan now."

"I'm sure we will, in the future." He agreed. "For now though, I think it's best if she stays in Japan for awhile."

"Why do you say that?" Pamela asked.

"She has some unfinished business there." He smirked. "She has to figure some things out…and realize some things as well"

Pamela pouted as he reached for his jacket. "What do you know, you sneaky devil?"

"Nothing, Pamela, nothing." He grinned, keeping his discussion with the Grady girl a secret for now.

* * *

 **So, remember when I said to expect more from this story? That was before I realized Fanfiction had messed up the coding or whatever on this story, and now I have to space out the paragraphs and everything by hand, and it takes friggin' forever! So that's my excuse right now... :)**

 **But anyway, onto more important things...special thanks to Guest and dkfan24 for their reviews! It's always so amazing to read what you guys think of this!**

 **Guess that's all I have to say, so thank you guys for reading! Buh-bye~**

 **...don't forget to review...**


	19. Chapter 16: A Warm Homecoming

"Oh…" Yuki looked at the black screen on her phone…dead battery.

"What is it?" her father looked at her.

"My phone died." she slipped it into her purse. "Oh well, I suppose it'll just be a surprise then." She looked out the window at the passing trees.

Her father looked down. "And…you will stay in touch?" he asked. "I need to know you're safe."

She smiled. "Yes, I'll call you once a week."

"Every day." He said instantly, causing her eyes to widen and she looked at him.

"Every day?" she exclaimed. "Where would either of us find the time?" she asked.

"We'll set a specific time that's good for both of us, but that condition isn't negotiable."

"Okay." She chuckled. "We'll talk every day…" she knew that wouldn't last, it wasn't possible.

"Your mother adored you." He suddenly blurted out.

"Huh?" she frowned.

"She…she was going to spoil you rotten, she hardly ever let you out of her sight, and she insisted on changing all the diapers, calming you down every night you would wake up crying, even if the maids said they could handle it." Yuki smiled at his rambling. "And she really did love you," he looked to her. "She loved you so much, don't ever forget that…don't forget her." He said. "I know it's unfair, but I don't want to be the only one to remember, I want to talk about her and…and I want someone else to know her too."

"I'd like that." She smiled.

After another half-hour of her father telling her about the time her mother was young and got lost in a bad part of town, all too soon, the airport came into view and Yuki had to leave.

"Call every day, and stay away from boys, boys are bad." he nodded. "Boys only want one thing…"

She scrunched up her nose. "Most of my friends are boys."

He cleared his throat. "Just…don't get too close to them."

She laughed as the voice crackled through the speakers and said that her flight was boarding.

"Goodbye, father." She smiled and started to walk away, but he grabbed her arm and hugged her tightly.

"Goodbye, Yuki…" he said warmly. "I love you, and I'm so proud of you."

She started to tear up and quickly buried her face in his jacket. "I love you too." She sniffed. "But I have to go now."

"Yeah." He nodded and let her go. "Be safe, Adelaide." He said, using her French name. "Au revoir, mon enfant."

"Adieu, père" she smiled and clutched her suitcase tightly as she started to walk away.

INSERT LINE HERE

Yuki slipped on the grey hoodie since it was a bit cold, she had on her torn and faded jeans and black slip-ons on, her hair was down and the streak was still missing, but she'd re-dye it soon.

She put on the hood and kept her head down as she walked through the familiar halls of the large school. Some people were still there, some she recognized, some she didn't…but none she truly cared to talked to.

She just had a single destination in mind, they'd still be there, probably entertaining guests, she's just stay in the corner until they were finished and then they'll have a nice little reunion.

She found herself standing outside the door to Music Room #3; she heard the laughter and conversations coming from inside, the familiar smell of roses entered her nose and she found herself smiling.

Some people would walk past her, she could feel them staring at her and when she felt a tear go down her cheek, she knew why they had been staring. How long had she been crying? She wiped her eyes and sniffed, she couldn't see them like this.

She looked at her watch and saw it was almost time for the guests to leave, she would wait out here for now, they'd leave the Host club alone in there and she'd reveal herself then, she didn't want to disrupt their guests.

She leaned against the wall and sighed, but she wanted to see them! She whined and bit her lip; she wanted to see them so bad! She wanted to see the inside of the room again, she wanted to see all the guests laughing and smiling, hanging on her closest friends' words. They'd all be telling such interesting stories; she wanted to hear them too!

Maybe just a peek then…maybe a subtle little peek through the door.

She nodded and stealthily opened the door just a crack, she watched the guests laugh and talk, but she couldn't quite see anyone she really wanted to see. She opened just a bit more until she heard it creak, then stopped…no one had heard, good. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on a certain person…she had wanted to find Tamaki, why had her eyes immediately gone to him? It didn't matter, her eyes were already on him, watching him talk to his twin, watching the "twincest" thing being pulled as his brother held him in his arms and the girls swooned.

She smiled and looked over to Haruhi, who was sincerely speaking to the girls around her, a smile plastered on her face as they all had hearts in their eyes.

She saw Kyoya leaning against a wall, clipboard in hand, he was talking to two girls that seemed to want to buy something.

Honey was laughing cutely at something a girl has said, Mori was sitting stoically beside him.

And finally…Tamaki, he was smiling, but his body posture was all off, his smile seemed forced, so did the flirtatious lines he was throwing out randomly. The guests didn't seem to notice, so it didn't really matter, but it still made her heart heavy to see him sad. Why was he so sad?

Something suddenly bumped into her back, she slightly heard a boy behind her say sorry before she found herself tumbling into the large room.

The commotion had alerted everyone and all heads were turned to the crumpled heap on the ground.

A head full of fluffy, curly blonde hair that was sticking up everywhere suddenly popped up and looked around.

She got up and brushed herself off, avoiding the curious eyes of the guests, damn that clumsy boy that had ruined her plan!

She cleared her throat and slowly started to make her way to the corner that she was going to mope in until all the guests were gone…but a voice stopped her.

"Mon Ami?" a hopeful voice rang out, causing everyone to look at the blonde boy that was currently standing up.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Bonjour, mon vieil ami," She said in French. "Vous ai-je manqué?"

"Oui." He nodded. "Tu m'as beaucoup manqué!"

She grinned.

"It's Yuki!" one girl suddenly squealed. "She's so cute!"

They all started to flock around her and the Host Club watched as she smiled at each of them.

"So…she's back." Hikaru smiled fondly.

"It would seem so." Haruhi smiled as well.

"Good." Kaoru nodded; for once…he didn't ignore the fact that his heart skipped a beat when he saw her.

Yuki managed to worm her way out of he crowd without them noticing, she fell to the ground with a thud and when she looked up she saw all her friends smiling.

She smiled back at them.

"It's good to have you back." Kyoya said as Honey ran up and hugged her.

"It's good to be back." She said after hugging Honey, and then she got up and ran to Tamaki. "And I missed you as well." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, having to stand on her toes to reach.

He hugged her back. "Are you back to stay?" he asked.

"I am, is that alright?"

He tightened his hold on her. "Of course it is!" he laughed, causing her to laugh as well.

"Don't hog her." Hikaru wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her back. "We wanna hug her too."

Yuki laughed and turned around in his arms to hug him back. "I missed you too, Hikaru." She said lightly

She didn't catch the small warm smile that graced his face, nor did she see the mischievous glint in his eyes.

She was suddenly shoved into another pair of arms roughly, causing her and the other person to fall to the ground.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself looking into the beautiful amber eyes she had come to adore. His face was quite red, making her chuckle and lean down to hug him. "I missed you, Kaoru." She whispered into his ear, causing him to shiver and screw his eyes shut.

Curse Hikaru! He did that on purpose…but still, his heart was beating uncontrollably and he didn't think the blush on his face would ever leave.

She suddenly got up and went to hug Haruhi, leaving him alone on the ground; no one seemed to pay attention…thank god. He sat up and covered his face…did he really like her?

He could sense Hikaru kneeling in front of him. "You're an idiot." He said, but Kaoru could hear the smile.

"I know." He sighed, surprising Hikaru.

"Finally." Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief.

And over the chatter of the guests and the laughs of the Hosts, Haruhi hugging Yuki back and smiling, Tamaki hugging them both and Mori and Honey coming over to join in…no one noticed the deep shade of red on Yuki's face.

And she made sure no one did, even if she wasn't sure why.

* * *

 **Hey guys, sorry this one's a little short, it's more of a filler chapter I had planned simply to show Yuki's homecoming.**

 **Anywho...Thank you so much to SCARLETCOIN2012, dkfan24, and WeightlessWriter for their amazing reviews, you know how much I appreciate them!**

 **And sorry if this is a little late, I'm not sure how to fix the whole coding thing on this story, but I'm working on it!**


	20. Chapter 17: Come on an Adventure

Why? It was so early…the sun wasn't up yet…why was she? She tried to ignore the sound of Tamaki's yelling, she pulled the covers up over her head.

"It's a beautiful day!" Tamaki cheered happily as he threw back the curtains, only for moonlight to shine through.

"It's not even day yet." Yuki mumbled.

"Get up, you sleepy-head, the hours are going by too fast!" he grinned.

"There's no school today." She whined. "The hours can go by at whatever speed they please."

"Up!" he tugged at the covers. "You're wasting your life sleeping!"

"I _wanna_ waste my life sleeping." She cried and held tightly to the blanket.

"Yuki!" he exclaimed. "Come on." He went to her wardrobe and picked out a random outfit. "Time to go."

"Go where?" she kicked at the outfit. "It's too early to go anywhere."

"We need to be more active." He said sternly.

"What's gotten into you, Tama-chan?" she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Nothing!" he said too quickly.

She looked at him with a blank expression; he stared back with equal intensity.

"What are you going on about?" she raised an eyebrow. "You of all people should know how much I value sleep."

"Get dressed; we're going on an adventure." He smiled, figuring that would get her up like it did when they were kids. But all he was given was a groan instead of a happy laugh from a five-year old Yuki. He missed those days.

"We can go on an adventure when the sun comes out." She said and fell back into the bed.

"But it's a full moon; it would make an even more exciting adventure." He said.

She sighed; almost ready to give in. "Did Haruhi do something?" she took a wild guess and was greeted with a moment of silence before he started talking in a shrill voice.

"What would that have to do with anything?" he asked.

She smirked; yes…this had something to do with the small brunette.

"Alright, Tamaki…I'll go on an adventure with you." She got up with a soft smile, knowing what was going on.

She put on the cream-colored baggy sweater that went over one shoulder and a black undershirt, with a pair of black, high-waisted shorts…this what Tamaki had picked out? Wasn't it cold out? She shrugged and put on her black lace up shoes.

"I'm ready." She opened her bedroom door and saw Tamaki sitting quietly in the hall.

He shushed her. "Shima's in the kitchen." He pointed down the stairs. "She'll never let us leave if she catches us."

She nodded seriously. She had to admit, this was fun. Sneaking around the house like when they were kids…

* * *

"We've got to be quite." A six-year old Tamaki whispered as he and the small blonde girl tip-toed down the steps.

"Mm." she nodded.

Both children were still in their pajamas; Tamaki had been there to wake her up with a smile saying he had found a treasure map. After staying up late and watching old pirate movies with him, this was a very exciting idea to her.

She held tight to the flashlight in her hands, smartly deciding not to turn it on in case a servant or adult were wandering around. Yuki was wearing a pink nightgown with her silver dressing-robe over it; Tamaki was wearing his normal blue button up sleepwear.

"It's in the garden." He said as he looked at the map in his hands.

"What's there?" she asked and tried to look over his shoulder, he snatched up the map.

"It doesn't say." He frowned at her. "It's supposed to be a surprise."

"How do you know it's supposed to be a surprise?" she frowned back.

"It says right here!" he shoved the map towards her and pointed at the bottom where it stated very clearly ' _It's a surprise'_.

"Hmph." She turned her head. "Treasures aren't supposed to be a surprise, you're supposed to know what you're looking for."

"We'll know when we get there." He sighed and looked around. "Look!" he pointed to the horse-shaped bush. "That's on the map, we're going the right way!" he looked to the crudely drawn horse by the dotted line.

" _That's_ a horse?" Yuki raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell?"

"There's the tail, and here's the head." He smiled.

There was an awkward moment of silence as Yuki stared at him incredulously. "Did _you_ draw that map, Tamaki?" she asked.

"No." he shook his head. "It dropped out of my coloring book."

"Pshh." She smirked. "You still color in coloring books?"

He blushed furiously and snatched the map up again. "So?" he knew she had started drawing on normal paper and he still wanted to color-in things, why'd she have to bring that up?

"Nothing, nothing." She waved it off while covering her mouth to hold in her laughs.

He grumbled and kept going. "We're getting closer." He nodded.

"How can you tell?" she asked.

"The X marks the spot." He said and looked down at his map. "It's by the Cherry Tree and there it is." He pointed to the large pink tree in the middle of a hedge maze.

"We're supposed to go through here?" Yuki gasped.

"We can see over them, it'll be fine." Tamaki reassured her and looked at the small green walls. His father had had them cut so if Tamaki ever went in there he wouldn't get lost or scared. So the hedges went just about to Tamaki's shoulders and right at eye-level for Yuki.

She sighed, a little scared to go in, it was still dark out.

Tamaki, sensing his friend's discomfort, look down to her and smiled. He patted her head. "I won't let anything happen to you, Yuki." He said sincerely.

She looked up at him and searched his face for anything resembling untruth…but found nothing. She nodded, trusting him.

They walked through the maze and Tamaki guided them to the very middle where he had had picnics with his father and mother under the Cherry Tree. He knew the way mostly…but at some point got a little turned around. Luckily, Yuki didn't notice in time before he found his way back again. She clung to his arm the whole time and he felt his heart swell with pride, he was the brave older brother.

Well, brave until…they got to the Tree.

They stopped in front of it and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Tamaki, where's the treasure?" Yuki whined.

"Maybe we have to dig for it?" he looked around before picking up a stick and knelt to the ground. He stuck the stick into the dirt to shovel it out, but before he could, a booming voice rang out.

" _Ooh, don't do that!_ " the voice said in a stereotypical ghost manner and Tamaki jumped back and hid behind a frozen Yuki. " _Hasn't your father told you a lot of time not to dig in the grass? Ooh!_ " the voice said.

Yuki snapped out of her stupor and narrowed her eyes, suddenly feeling very skeptical.

"There's a M-Monster!" Tamaki wailed, cowering behind Yuki.

Meanwhile, the "Monster" was hiding behind a hedge, looking at the blank-faced Yuki. Why wasn't she afraid?

"Tamaki's Dad, you can come out now." She said with a frown.

"Huh?" Tamaki sniffed and rubbed his eyes.

"Ah, Yuki, you got me." Yuzuru Suoh stood up and rubbed the back of his head. "You're too smart."

She grinned proudly and turned to a dumbstruck Tamaki. "See?" she smiled gently at him. "It was just your dad being stupid."

Yuzuru sweat-dropped and laughed nervously.

"You…you put the treasure map in my coloring book?" Tamaki asked.

He nodded.

"And…there isn't a real treasure?" he looked down sadly.

"Well, actually…" Yuzuru pulled out a small wooden chest. "I did find this when I got here."

"A treasure chest!" Tamaki's eyes lit up. "You found it?" he looked to his father as he set it on the ground.

"Mm." he nodded and knelt next to it as Tamaki crawled over and sat on his knees in front of it.

"Good job." He grinned widely, causing Yuzuru's cheeks to grow pink and a smile to rest on his face. His son was adorable.

"Yes, good job, Tamaki's Dad." Yuki walked over and patted the older man's head.

"Thank you, Yuki." His smile grew and became goofy; these kids were just so cute!

"Whoa!" Tamaki opened the chest and pulled out book filled with sheets of piano music. "And there's other stuff too."

"Really?" Yuki looked in and broke out in a grin as she pulled out a blank canvas and box full of art supplies. "Whatever pirate lost this must have been cultured." She laughed.

Yuzuru laughed. "And what's this?" he pulled out a flat envelop. "Hmm, it seems to be a letter of some sort?" he pretended to think about it, like he didn't already know what was in it.

"Open it, open it!" Tamaki urged.

"Alright." He smiled and tore it open. "Oh?" he looked at the piece of paper that he had taken out of it.

"What does it say?" Yuki peered over his shoulder.

"It says… ' _Whoever found this treasure must be a true pirate, and must make beautiful things with the items inside'_." He smiled but it fell when he saw their crestfallen faces. "What is it?"

" _You_ found it…" Yuki said.

Tamaki looked to her and back to his father with a sad smile. "You're a true pirate, father."

Yuzuru hadn't thought about that. "Oh…" he looked down, trying to think of something to say. "Well, I may have found it, but you guys found the things inside, so we're all true pirates." He hoped that would work.

He was instantly relieved when their faces lit up again.

"Yeah!" Tamaki exclaimed.

Yuki laughed happily. It had been a good day.

* * *

Yuki smiled softly at Tamaki as he looked excitedly at the bird that was sitting on a tree branch.

"Tamaki…" she stopped him from continuing down the path.

"Hmm?" he looked down at her.

"Are you okay?" she smiled.

"Of course I am, why?" he laughed.

She looked down. "We haven't really gone on these 'adventures' since we were little…"

"It's time we start again." He smiled. "It's fun, no?"

"It is…" she sighed. "But not if you do it just to take your mind off things."

"I'm not taking my mind off anything." He waved her off. "I just want to have fun."

She stayed quiet the rest of the time, allowing Tamaki to drag her around the gardens, looking for something that wasn't there. She saw the sun start to come up, it was beautiful. She wondered where the rest of the Host Club was at that moment, what they were doing…probably sleeping, knowing them.

"Hey, Tamaki." She said and he looked back to her.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Why don't we go get Kyoya?" she suggested. "Maybe he'd like this as well."

Tamaki looked hesitant, she knew Kyoya wasn't really a morning person but maybe he'd help Tamaki more than she could right now.

"Sure." Tamaki agreed. "Yeah, he'd love this!" he grinned.

They snuck back inside and froze when they heard Shima's voice; she was scolding a maid for breaking a dish…right in the grand foyer.

"How are we supposed to get around her?" Yuki asked, her brows furrowed.

"Wait it out?" Tamaki said, uncertain. "Sneak around?"

"They could be there for awhile, and they'd see if we tried to sneak around them."

Tamaki looked at her and shrugged.

She sighed. "Maybe we should just go back to bed; we'll see him tomorrow at school."

Tamaki was silent for a little, she looked at him and saw he had a thoughtful face.

"Okay…" he sighed.

She smiled gently at him and rubbed his back as he passed her. They headed to the stairs silently.

But before they made it all the way to those steps, Tamaki bolted to the kitchen.

"There's an open window!" he whisper-shouted.

She sighed. Tamaki was losing it. She followed after him and hopped out of the window, her shorts getting caught on something, causing her to fall forward and face-plant on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Tamaki came and helped her up.

"Yep." She rubbed her nose.

"Then let's go." He smiled and started to the road.

"How are we supposed to get there again?" she asked as the end of the driveway came into view.

Tamaki paused and looked to her.

"If we can't let anyone know, that includes the chauffeur." She reiterated.

Tamaki had a blank expression before he finally spoke. "Ah…yes…" he nodded and put a finger to his chin. "This is true…so how?"

"Maybe we should just go back inside and call him later?" Yuki suggested.

"No, out of the question!" he exclaimed. "We have to do this, Yuki." He said desperately. "We have to do this together, just like old times."

"Why?" she smiled tiredly.

"Because…" He sighed. "Because we used to have so much fun together, we rarely do anything anymore."

She looked down. "Yeah…but that's because we got older." She shrugged. "We can't do what we used to; we can just keep doing new things as we age."

Tamaki scratched the back of his head. "I guess I just missed you a lot while you were in France."

"I missed you too." She hugged him. "I won't leave again, I'm here to stay."

He hugged her back and smiled. "What about when we graduate?"

"Shush…" she hushed him. "Let's not think about what the future holds, neither of us can be sure about that anyway."

Tamaki sighed and nodded. "You're right, we should just enjoy this while we can…" he said.

She smiled. "It sounds so sad when you say it like that." she laughed. "Tell you what, Tamaki…Kyoya's house isn't that far, is it?"

"No...why?" he tilted his head and frowned in confusion.

"Why don't we walk?" she suggested.

He seemed to think about that for a little, but then agreed.

 _ **Insert line here….**_

They had been walking for about fifteen minutes, the sun was now peeking out from behind the morning clouds, leaving streaks of pink, gold, and blue in the sky. The air was fresh and morning dew was evident on any plants they ran across.

"It's been awhile since I just watched the morning…" Yuki said with a soft smile.

"What do you mean?" Tamaki asked. "You get up in the morning everyday for school."

"Yeah, but...I haven't actually watched it become morning since I was a

little girl." she said. "I'm always rushing to get ready and leave instead of just looking."

Tamaki understood. He's always understood her, even since they were children. When she'd ramble on and on about nothing in particular, he'd always listen intently, hanging on her every word. He had no one else to listen to, and neither did she...maybe that was why they became so close, because it always felt like there was no one else.

He wondered for a second if they'd have been so close if they had others, but he quickly shook that thought from his head, they would still be friends, they would still tell each other secrets and stories. There was no point in thinking of it.

He looked down to her, her face was peaceful and content, she looked happier than she had been in a long time. He was glad she and her dad had reached an agreement, that they had finally understood each other.

"This is it, right?" she asked, pulling him out of his thoughts to look at a large estate in front of them.

"Yeah." he smiled widely and jogged towards the electronic gate.

"Are you sure it's not too early?" she asked in concern.

"It's fine." he waved her off and proceeded to speak with the voice coming over the speaker, explaining who they were.

* * *

 **How long has it been? Awhile, right? Sorry for that, I haven't been writing any of my stories that much. But worry not! I still haven't given up on any of my little creative worlds.**

 **Special thanks to SCARLETCOIN2012 and acrosseverystar for their amazing reviews, they really meant a lot to me.**

 **As always, please review and keep being the patient little beauties you have been!**


	21. Chapter 18: Thoughts on Yuki

Kyoya was dreaming peacefully, he was dreaming that Tamaki was sitting quietly in a chair, minding his own business for once. The twins were in the corner of the room, just doing their homework, Honey was eating a small portion of vegetables, and Mori was...being Mori. Yuki and Haruhi were congratulating him on getting Tamaki to be silent.

He smiled calmly from his dream...only for a body to suddenly fall on top of him. He opened his tired eyes, seeing Yuki giggling in front of his bed, the weight on top of him laughed and spread its arms.

"Good morning, Kyoya." Yuki smiled warmly. "Tamaki got over-excited."

"Come on an adventure with us!" Tamaki laughed as he looked up at the ceiling, his arms and legs spread across Kyoya's large bed.

Kyoya said nothing, he simply pushed Tamaki off the bed, causing the blonde to yelp. Yuki giggled and helped Tamaki up.

"Kyoya, please don't be mad, we just wanted to see you." Yuki said and patted his back.

"You can see me on Monday, for now, leave." he said in a lifeless voice.

"Oh, Kyoya." she waved him off, making him even more irritated.

"Let's all go into town!" Tamaki said loudly and clapped his hands.

"I'll call the rest of the Host Club, good idea, Tama-chan." Yuki pulled her phone and smiled at the beaming boy.

Kyoya finally sat up and gave Yuki a half-hearted glare, try as he might, he could never seem to be truly mad at the younger girl.

"Fine, just get out so I can get dressed." he pushed them both out of the room and slammed the door.

"That was easier than I thought…" Tamaki commented as Yuki put her phone on speaker.

"Hello?" said a slightly tired voice.

"Haruhi, good morning." Yuki said cheerfully. There was a moment of silence before Tamaki spoke up.

"Are you well?" he asked. "Because we are all going on a mandatory stroll through the town, we can head to your commoner's market if that is easier for you."

There was another pause, for a moment the two thought she had hung up.

"Mandatory?" she finally asked in an irritated tone.

"Yes." Tamaki said, not fazed by her voice.

They heard a sigh. "Fine, but I don't exactly have the means to travel at the moment, so if you could move this to the marketplace, that would be great."

"Of course, Haruhi, I'll see you in...an hour?" Yuki looked to Tamaki. "That should be enough time for everyone to get ready and go, right?"

"Yeah." he nodded.

"Okay, I'll see you." Haruhi said and they heard the phone beep, signalling she had hung up.

They called Honey and Mori...well Mori was the only one who picked up, but he said that he'd wake Honey up...they wished him luck and Yuki told him that if he died she would miss him, they were met with silence for a few long seconds before he hung up.

"I have to use the bathroom before we go, call those evil twins." Tamaki walked away.

She watched him turn the corner before dialing the number.

"What?" a voice asked, she recognized it as Hikaru, and he sounded like he had just woken up, what was with everyone and getting up so late? Well...it was still pretty early actually…

"Hello, Hikaru…" she said with a smile in her voice.

Meanwhile, in the Hitachiin residence, Hikaru tensed up and looked over at his sleeping brother, the sound of Yuki's voice made him grin maniacally. He gave a small noise as a response to her greeting, she started talking about something, but he wasn't paying attention.

"Actually, Yuki, could you wake Kaoru up for me?" he said. "I got to go to the kitchen and I think it's about time for him to get up too, I'll put the phone to his ear." he ignored her protests, and instead, put her on speaker. "Go ahead." he said.

There was silence on the other side, Hikaru kept quiet as well, unaware that she was furiously blushing on the other side.

"Umm...Hikaru?" she asked, he saw his brother shift a bit, but he kept quiet. "Right…" he heard her sigh. "Uh, Kaoru?" she called for him, he only slightly moved. "Hey, uh, Hikaru wants me to wake you up." Hikaru put the phone closer to Kaoru while still listening in. "So, wake up." she said, Hikaru had to resist the urge to laugh at her weak attempts. She hummed thoughtfully. "Kaoru…" she whispered. "Hikaru's in trouble!" no reaction. "Pancakes are being made." no reaction. "Tamaki is confessing to Haruhi!" Hikaru rolled his eyes, but there was still no reaction.

Hikaru walked over to the wardrobe, picking out his outfit for the day, still half-listening.

"Kaoru, are you really this deep a sleeper?" she asked. "Je pense que vous êtes une personne étonnante" she said.

Hikaru looked over at the phone with a frown, he didn't want her to start speaking a language he couldn't understand, he wanted to hear all of it. To his surprise though, the sound of her speaking French made Kaoru stir a bit.

"Vous êtes gentil et semble toujours me faire sourire." she said, her voice was soft. "Alors réveille-toi, donc je peux te voir!"

Kaoru's head lifted up, he blinked the sleep out of his eyes and turned to the phone. "Yuki?" he rasped and cleared his throat.

"Ah, you're awake." she said as he picked up the phone, not noticing his twin hiding by the wardrobe.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Hikaru told me to wake you up." she said. "We're all meeting up in the commoner's marketplace, Tamaki said it's mandatory. So be there in an hour, Haruhi texted and said that there's this little bakery we can all meet at, but I think she just wanted to eat something there!" she laughed.

Hikaru watched the fond smile on his brother's face as he listened to Yuki ramble on. He looked as if he could listen to her for the rest of his life.

As Yuki continued on subjects that seemed to have nothing to do with anything, she passionately spoke about art, about France, about Tamaki, Kaoru just sat there, his legs crossed and the phone now off of speaker, he wasn't even sure why it was like that in the first place.

He must have sat there for only fifteen minutes, but it felt like forever, he was content and happy listening to her, the way she laughed at some joke she had slipped in there, the way she was so passionate about everything. It was like everything got a little brighter in the room, even if she wasn't in it, her voice alone could make everything better.

He couldn't really get a word in, but he didn't want to, he didn't ever want her to stop talking...but all good things eventually end. She paused and he realized she had asked him a question.

"Yeah, I'll be there." he smiled before realizing his mistake. "I mean... _we'll_ be there." he nodded.

She laughed and he smiled again.

"I'll see you there then, I've taken up enough of your time, you should get ready." she said.

"It's fine," he said sincerely. "But I guess Hikaru has gotten a head start in getting ready, I'll see you in a bit, bye." he waited for her to say bye back before hanging up.

He stared at the phone for a few seconds with a dopey smile on his face, he heard the door open.

Hikaru had managed to slip out of the room when Kaoru was distracted, he came with a towel around his neck, his clothes for the day already on.

"Oh, hey." Kaoru pulled the sheets off and went to get his own clothes.

"You up now?" Hikaru smirked.

"Yeah, Yuki did her job." he sent a glare to Hikaru.

Hikaru averted his eyes, playing innocent. "Don't know what you mean." he pursed his lips and dried his hair with the towel.

Kaoru shook his head at his brother and walked out of the room, leaving his brother snickering.

* * *

Haruhi sat in the small bakery, eating a danish, she kept an eye on the door, waiting for the group of rowdy high-schoolers.

Her thoughts went to Yuki, how happy Tamaki seemed since she got back from France, and how Kaoru's behavior around her seemed to have changed. The small, blonde, French girl was certainly a mystery to Haruhi, she realized she didn't know much about her past, other than that her mother died and her father was somewhat abrasive after that. She knew that Yuki and Tamaki had been childhood friends, in fact, they were probably each other's only friend.

When she first met Yuki, she had thought her to be a female version of Tamaki, and while that is still occasionally true, Yuki had become her own person to Haruhi, not " _Tamaki's childhood friend"_ but a part of the Host Club, whether she was a Host or not. When she first saw her, she saw that Yuki was indeed beautiful, curly blonde hair that shined like that sun under certain lights, the red streak seemed to accent everything about her style, the way she carried herself, the way she dressed, and the things she said. Haruhi had come to realize that Yuki was as beautiful outside as she was inside.

Just as she was contemplating that these thoughts must be what Kaoru thinks from time to time, the door opened to reveal two very familiar heads, the twins.

"Ah, Haruhi," Kaoru noticed her first, Hikaru looked over and saw her food. "You look rather lonely…" Kaoru swaggered over to her.

"Maybe we should…" Hikaru put an arm around her shoulder.

"Keep you company…" Kaoru said and put his arm around her other shoulder.

"For now, at least…" Hikaru sat down, his arm still around her.

"Until that noisy bunch gets here." Kaoru mirrored his brother's actions in every way.

Haruhi was unfazed by their attitude, but what did strike her as odd was that they hadn't acted like this in what seemed like a while...why?

She looked up at Kaoru and saw him anxiously looking at the door. Then she looked at Hikaru, he looked somewhat bored, but behind that was a strange happiness.

"What happened to you two?" Haruhi asked.

"Oh, you want to know about our day?" Hikaru leaned towards her a little more, his arm more relaxed around her and a wolfish grin on his face.

"I want to know why you're so happy while your brother is anxious." She shot back, staring him down.

They both seemed surprised by her observation, but quickly hid their shock.

"Who knows…" Hikaru said mysteriously.

"Maybe we're just…" Kaoru started.

"Happy to see you." Hikaru finished.

"That wouldn't explain Kaoru's anxiety." Haruhi said, pointing to the younger twin.

"Who said I'm anxious?" Kaoru shrugged, letting his arm fall off of her while his twin's was still in place.

"It's pretty obvious…" Haruhi said. The twins had long since noticed she had a strange ability to see even the feeling they try so hard to hide.

After a few moments of silence, the air thick with tension, Hikaru finally gave in, snickering slightly. He put his hand to his mouth as a genuinely happy expression came over him and his laughter increased. Haruhi raised an eyebrow, as did the other twin.

"I'm sorry, Kaoru…" he said, wiping away a tear that came from his laughter. "I was listening in on your phone call." he glanced at his brother, who was now beet reed.

"Phone call?" Haruhi looked between them.

"Well, you see…" Hikaru started. "Yuki called this morning to tell us of this 'mandatory outing', Kaoru was still asleep, so I told her to wake him up." he chuckled a little. "She didn't realize she was on speaker, or that I was still in the room."

"We only had a nice chat, Hikaru, don't make it out to be something scandalous." Kaoru defended.

"I wish I knew French…" Hikaru said wistfully. "I wonder what she said."

Kaoru turned away from them, he didn't want to be a part of their conversation anymore, especially not with Haruhi's gleeful questions of what all Yuki said. It seemed Haruhi liked the idea of him and Yuki as well…

He sighed and looked down, but it would never happen, he knew that. She would probably be better off with Hiro or something...but the thought of them together made his heart squeeze in horror, the thought of Hiro being the cause of Yuki's laughs, of her smiles, made him absolutely terrified. Because what if that happened? What if Yuki realized that she liked Hiro back and they started dating?

Oh no...that would be her first boyfriend, wouldn't it? He grimaced, Hiro didn't seem like "first boyfriend" material. He seemed more like the "last resort".

But why would those two dating be such a horrible thing? She'd be happy, right? Hiro's not emotionally stinted, he's not afraid to accept things as they are. If she was happy, why shouldn't he be happy for her?

He pondered this thought...why wouldn't he be happy?

Just then, the door opened again and showed Honey and Mori coming in. Honey was on Mori's shoulder, laughing happily about something that must have happened recently.

"Haru-chan, Hika-chan, Kao-chan!" Honey hopped down and ran up, he sat across from Haruhi and smiled, but his smile dropped when he saw what she was eating. He instantly got up and headed to the display of cakes and muffins, and an assortment of other sweets, looking like a man on a mission. This must have been like heaven to him, Mori followed him without a word.

"Well, at least he actually said 'hi' before going to get food." Hikaru commented with a smile.

"That's an achievement." Kaoru said. "But where are Tamaki and Yuki?"

"They're the ones that invited us and yet they have the nerve to be late?" Haruhi glowered.

"Maybe they decided they'd rather sleep in." Hikaru said, not taking any notice to his arm still around Haruhi. "Oh, and where's Kyoya?"

"Probably the same thing, you know how hard it is to get him up, I'm surprised Honey's up at all." Kaoru said, looking at the short blonde who was currently intimidating the cashier with his ungodly amount of sweets.

Haruhi finished her breakfast and hummed, Hikaru noticed some crumbs on her face. "Umm, Haruhi…" She turned to looked at him.

Hikaru smirked deviously and cupped her face with a hand, Kaoru looked away, knowing what his brother was doing and deciding not to be a part of it. Hikaru wiped the crumbs with his thumb, leaning in slightly, the grin still on his face as Haruhi's cheeks tinted red. Even after the crumbs were gone, he continued to hold her face and lean in. His plan was to turn away as soon as they got too close, and whisper a pun in her ear, but a deadly voice from the now open door stopped him.

" _Get your filthy paws off of my little girl."_

* * *

 **Lots of time has passed, absolutely no excuse, all I can say is thank you for being patient with my spurts of creativity...**

 **I haven't been feeling very well for a while, whether it be stress from the end-of-school-last-minute-projects, or maybe just a touch of depression...I haven't felt like doing much at all, I've been feeling pretty down and insecure. So I hope you can forgive me.**

 **Special thanks to acrosseverystar, unfittingpuzzlepieces, Wendy imouto chan, and Dark Rose Charm for their wonderful, fabulous reviews!**

 **Don't forget to review! And thanks again for being so supportive and patient.**


	22. A Mother's Day Special

_I've been wondering what I was going to say, I haven't seen her in years…I'm sorry I don't visit more…_

 _Mom._

A mature looking blonde woman crouched down on the grass; the stone statue of an angel seemed to be watching her. She set the bouquet of flowers down and gave a watery smile, she remembered when she first went there, the day of her mother's funeral.

 _I'm sorry I don't remember what you look like anymore, Mom, I'm sorry that I feel resentment towards Father. Today, James and I were playing in the garden and he saw us, he told me to come back inside, but I wanted to keep playing, then he yelled at me and I went up to my room and cried._

She stood back up, staring down at the engraving on the base of the statue, ' _Celine Kaga._ _Beloved Mother and Wife, she will live on through the hearts of her loved ones._ ' Yuki smiled, she didn't think about how her mother lived in their memories because she didn't have any, and her father seemed to have banished his own memories deep inside himself, even after admitting he still loved her. The thoughts must just be too painful.

 _I know that Father means well, and that he loves me, but sometimes I wish you were still around, maybe you'd see his logic better than I._

 _I haven't seen Tamaki lately, Anne-Sophie's getting sicker…_

She looked back to the sleek black car waiting for her on the driveway, then back to the statue. She knew she didn't have much time before she had to leave again.

 _Sometimes I think I can remember you, the feel of your arms when you held me, your voice when you sang, it's all so familiar and yet so distant._

 _I wish you were here, I wish you could hug me once more and tell me everything's going to be okay, because I'm not sure anymore._

She wiped away the tears that always seemed to come when she visited her mother's grave.

 _Mom, can you hear me? I went to Japan to see Tamaki and I met his friend Kyoya, and guess what…I fell asleep by the fountain! But two boys woke me up; they seemed alright, a little mean but…alright._

She shoved her hands into her coat pockets and nuzzled her face into the infinity scarf around her neck, her blonde hair tucked into it but the red streak was nowhere to be seen.

 _I'm going to high school in Japan…I think I should be excited but for some reason I feel a little…scared maybe? Perhaps I'm just nervous; I've never lived in Japan before._

Yuki sighed and closed her eyes, letting just one more tear fall before wiping it too away, and then looked back at the car, it was turned off now and a man was leaning against it, giving her all the time she needed.

 _Mom…I heard some girls talking about me, they were upperclassmen and what they said…it had a point. Maybe I shouldn't have come to Japan._

 _I feel selfish and rude, like I've cut in front of a line I didn't know existed._

She smiled at him, love shining in her green eyes as she watched him smile back, a smile that never fails to make her heart beat a little faster. She saw him look into the window and wave at the person inside, he didn't notice her continue to look as he made silly faces at into the window. She'd be able to hear the child's laughter had she been nearer.

 _Mom, I think I've found where I belong…_

 _Here in Japan, it feels like home. I think you'd like Haruhi, she's nice, and Tamaki's still my best friend. The Host Club feels like my family now…I don't ever want to go._

She looked back at the statue, she was glad she had taken the time to visit France and see her mother, it felt right. She smiled again, but this time it wasn't weak, this time it was content and happy.

 _Hey Mom, guess what?_

 _For once in my life…I think I'm genuinely happy._

* * *

 **I know it hasn't been that long since I last updated, but I really wanted to post this on Mother's Day. I had written it last year, but forgot and by the time I remembered, it was too late. I was slightly hesitant though, thinking maybe some people would think of this as a spoiler, but I sincerely don't mean it to be, I tried to be vague.**

 **So really, this is just a short and sweet moment between Yuki and her mother. Not technically a chapter.**

 **I won't be including any thanks for reviews until the next chapter, but just know that I've read them and appreciate them very much!**

 **I hope you had a beautiful Mother's Day, even if it wasn't today in whatever time zone you might be in. And if you didn't celebrate this year, just know that people love you and care for you.**

 **Good luck on anything you might have to do, Laddies, and see you in the next (real) chapter.**


	23. Chapter 19: Shops

"Uh oh…" Kaoru looked to the doorway and saw it was completely blocked by Tamaki and his aura of danger.

"Tamaki-senpai…" Haruhi said in surprise at his sudden appearance. "I'm not your daughter." she deadpanned.

Tamaki didn't seem to care what she had said because he quickly walked over at the shocked Hikaru, who still had his hands on Haruhi's face. He pulled Hikaru's wrists away and held them in a death grip.

"Tamaki, you're scaring him." a melodic voice giggled from the doorway.

They looked over and saw Yuki standing next to Kyoya, his arms crossed with an unamused expression and her standing with the same elegant posture as always, her hand at her mouth, suppressing her laugh.

When Kaoru looked up at them, his eyes automatically went to the shorter blonde, he took in everything he could, the way the early sun came in from behind them, giving her yellow hair a beautiful halo, the way her eyes were squinted from laughing, the way her blue nail polish was chipping slightly. He committed it all to memory, as if he would never see her again.

 _Wow, is he hopeless…_ Hikaru thought as he saw the dopey look on Kaoru's face. He rolled his eyes as Tamaki let go of him and turned to whine at Yuki.

"Yuki, he had his hands on Haruhi!" Tamaki whimpered at the younger girl.

Yuki shook her head and laughed, it was a beautiful laugh...Kaoru couldn't believe he had seen her in the past week, because it felt like it had been forever. Yuki, Kyoya, and Tamaki sat in front of them, Yuki directly across from Kaoru.

"So," Kaoru started, but wasn't exactly sure what to say, but he had to think of something, because she was looking at him now. "Isn't it cold out?" he blurted out, slightly cringing at it.

She raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it is…?" she laughed slightly.

"Well, it's just...you're wearing shorts." he pointed out, wanting to kick himself.

"Oh, yeah." Yuki looked down at her outfit. "I think Tama-chan just pulled out the first thing he saw in my closet."

"Ah, well…" he swallowed. "It looks nice." he shrugged.

Yuki looked away slightly and blushed. "Th-Thanks…" she stammered.

Kaoru's eyes shot up to look at her, did she just stutter? Was she blushing? His heart seemed to flutter with hope, maybe, just maybe, she likes him back? Did he dare think that?

Yuki looked to Tamaki for a distraction, but he was talking with Haruhi, and she didn't want to interrupt that. She looked to any of the other Hosts, but they had all gotten up to look at the sweets. It was basically just her and Kaoru at the table, no escape.

Why was this so awkward? Kaoru couldn't seem to pull his eyes from the salt shaker in front of him. He didn't think he could look at her again, see how beautiful she looked. He found himself absent-mindedly messing with a sugar packet in front of him.

"So, what do you think we're doing today?" Yuki broke the silence.

Kaoru managed to make eye-contact, but his expression was incredulous. He stopped fiddling with the packet and simply stared at her. She maintained eye-contact, but inside she was freaking out, why was he looking at her like that?

He suddenly burst out laughing, his cheeks reddening in joy. He wiped the tears building up in the corner of his eyes. "Weren't you the one who invited all of us?" he chuckled and gave a toothy grin.

She blinked, he was right...but she couldn't exactly focus on that, or anything for that matter. She noticed how his grin was slightly crooked, how his eyes crinkled up in delight, how his laugh made butterflies flutter in her stomach, how the sun coming in from the windows danced across his hair, causing it to look like flames. She wondered for a moment why she had never thought Hikaru was as beautiful as this, even though the two were identical. But she knew...she knew exactly why.

"You're right." she blushed and laughed with him, the awkward air was gone.

Hikaru looked over at the two and smiled, Kaoru looked so open, he was leaning into the table, a slight pink on his cheeks and a look of true joy. Yuki had the same expression, but slightly more reserved. Hikaru knew Yuki liked his brother, but would she ever express it? Did she even realize it? He wanted to ask her, but he didn't want to get involved in it, he wanted Yuki and his brother to do this by themselves. He sighed and leaned on the counter, watching them talk like old friends that had been separated for years.

"I hope they realize how much they like each other soon, it's giving me anxiety." Haruhi suddenly seemed to appear beside him, he looked over and smiled at her.

"I know, it's as if Kaoru's in denial, and Yuki is as self-aware as Tamaki." Hikaru said. "And that's not a good thing."

"When is it ever?" Haruhi smirked.

"I suppose we should just enjoy ourselves for now…" Hikaru said and leaned back, looking away from the two hopeless teens. "Not focus on them."

"It's hard when they act like that." Haruhi said. "But you're right, what they do is their own business."

"Even if it leaves you with the urge to shake them…" Hikaru snickered.

"I advise you to shake Kaoru a little harder." Tamaki said out of nowhere.

"Oh?" Haruhi raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe this is me just being a little biased, but he seemed to be the less observant one of the two." he shrugged casually.

Hikaru gave a tight-lipped smile and looked down. "Maybe you want to rethink that, Boss, Yuki is the obvious _air-head_ here." he said with a glare to the taller blonde boy.

"Give her more credit than that, Kaoru's the one who finds it difficult to care for anyone besides himself or you." Tamaki ground out, returning the glare.

Electricity seemed to crackle through the air, Haruhi right in the middle.

"Guys, come on, let's not compare siblings…" she tried to calm them down, but it didn't seem to work.

"If Yuki was observant, she'd notice how lovesick Kaoru is." Hikaru said.

"If Kaoru was more observant, he'd see how Yuki wants nothing more than to be with him." Tamaki glared.

"What even is this argument?" Haruhi whispered to herself, thinking it best to get out while she could.

"Haruhi!" Yuki called her over, she sighed in relief.

"What's up?" she walked over and looked at the smaller blonde.

"Kaoru says that I would suit a pink and frilly dress that his mother has, I don't think so, what do you think?" she smiled as Kaoru sighed and playfully rolled his eyes.

"I think it'd suit you." Haruhi said honestly. Yuki gasped in horror.

"Et tu, Haru-chan?" she covered her heart.

"I told you so." Kaoru gloated.

"It's just...you have such a cute face and with the blonde hair and big eyes...you could pull off a cutesy dress like that, I mean, you pull off the uniform dress." Haruhi said, defending her decision.

"Even if it would suit me, I refuse to wear something like that…" Yuki sulked.

"My mother's been begging me to let her get her hands on you." Kaoru said, and Hikaru and Tamaki came back to sit down, looking slightly peeved.

"She says you'd be perfect for some outfits in her new line." Hikaru said.

"I'd have to agree though, I've seen the outfits." Kaoru said and leaned his head on his hand.

"Are they the cutesy ones?" she glared.

"Maybe…" Kaoru and Hikaru both said at the same time.

Yuki sighed and threw her head back in frustration. "Well...anyway, can someone tell me what we're doing today?" she looked to Tamaki in particular, he just shrugged.

"Let's sight-see the commoner's place!" Honey said.

"That's not a bad idea." Kyoya said.

"Then it's decided, Haruhi will be our guide!" Tamaki said, getting up with a gleeful expression.

Haruhi sighed and got up as well, followed by the rest of the Club and Yuki smile at their enthusiasm. She really loved hanging out with the Host Club. Even though she hadn't really known them all as long as it felt, and even though she wasn't in France for that long...she had really missed them, and it felt amazing to be back with them...all of them.

She held that smile all the way down the street of the marketplace, watching the families emerge from restaurants after eating breakfast, or the shop owners flip their "closed" signs to "open". She loved every moment she could get with the lovable group, no matter how eccentric they could get.

They walked and chatted for what felt like forever, but was probably only an hour or so. Hikaru and Kaoru made everyone laugh as they put on matching cat-ear headbands and started a kickline in the store; what was even more surprising was that Yuki put on a puppy-ear headband and joined in, along with a store-attendant with a bunny-ear headband and Tamaki with a bird-beak mask. Haruhi was surprised at how much they all blended in with the other people, despite the obviously expensive clothes and very _outgoing_ personalities.

"Tama-chan, look!" Yuki pointed at a turtle sitting in the windowsill of a pet shop.

"Wow, it's so cute!" he said, before quickly being distracted by a puppy that looked an awful lot like Antoinette. "Yuki, over here!" he waved her over.

"They're having way too much fun over there." Haruhi said as she smiled at the two blondes.

"Let them have their fun, it's not often they get to go out like this." Hikaru said.

"Besides, even Kyoya seems to be enjoying himself." Kaoru sweat-dropped as he saw Kyoya looking at a python through the window.

"A candy-store!" Honey suddenly exclaimed, and was gone with Mori in a moment.

"There he goes…" Yuki laughed as she walked back over to Haruhi and the twins.

"Let's follow, they might have something delicious that we haven't tried yet." Tamaki said and grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the shop Honey had just disappeared into.

"Look, they have my favorite!" Yuki pointed at a pink-wrapped piece of candy that looked far too sweet for human consumption.

"Ah, do you want to get some?" Tamaki smiled as they fawned over to many different types of candy in the small shop. The rest of the club joined them in the shop, and soon they all had little bags of sweets. Honey, however had gotten more than all of them combined.

"What now?" Yuki looked to Tamaki as he rooted through the bag of candy, picking out one for both of them.

"What else is there to do around here?" he looked to Haruhi was seemed to be spacing out. "Haruhi?" he frowned and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh!" she jumped. "Sorry, I was thinking about what to make for dinner tonight." she looked back down. "I'm not sure what all I have."

"It's too early for dinner." Hikaru said while resting an arm on her head.

"But if you're worried…" Karou smirked and placed his own arm on her shoulder.

"We could visit the grocery store." they said in sync.

"The store?" Yuki tilted her head in confusion? "Weren't we just there?"

"No, no!" Hikaru said. "Those were simple little shops."

"The grocery store has so much more!" Kaoru exclaimed joyfully.

"Actually, it's not a bad idea. Just behave, okay?" Haruhi said thoughtfully.

"When do we ever not behave?" Hikaru grinned mischievously.

* * *

 **Long time no read! Yeah, this story is going to come to an end within the next couple chapters...just putting that out there. I'm going to try not to procrastinate for months again, and get those chapters out.**

 **Special thanks to unfittingpuzzlepieces and UltimateReadings for their reviews!**

 **Again, I'll see you guys soon, and will be finishing up this story.**


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